Life Is Still Beautiful
by Cresciela
Summary: Due to a traumatic event in the past, Kairi fears men. Enter Sora, a ball of sunshine that is determined to make her realize that the world is still beautiful—that her life is still beautiful. At the same time, will Sora find himself too during the process? Presenting a story of intricately-woven friendships and how Kairi changes everyone around her.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything except plot!**

Kairi shakily clutched her books in her chest, eyes staring straight down on the floor to avoid any of the gazes that were on her. _Breathe, Kairi, breathe. Everything will be okay as long as you watch your breathing._ A drip of sweat rolled down her forehead as her hands grew clammy. It didn't help that her anxiety was slowly increasing with every step she took towards her locker room.

"Hey, isn't she that girl who can't—"

"Dude, shut up, are you blind? She's _right_ there; she can hear you."

"Who cares if she can hear me? She's just a _freak_ of nature." Kairi could crush her books with the grip she had on them as she got closer to the people, who were making sure to steer clear away from her path. She wasn't complaining—she _wanted_ them to stay away from her. It made the day go by a lot, lot easier that way.

 _Great, great,_ she thought happily, _at this rate, I'll be okay for the day, and—_

 _Crash!_

"Oh, I'm sorry about that. I wasn't watching where I was goi—hey, are you okay?" The boy who had accidentally bumped into her by the side stretched out a hand towards her crippling figure to check if she was okay, but before he could do anything, her shriek stopped him.

"Don't touch me!" she screamed, her books laying forgotten on the floor as she hugged herself and put her back against the lockers. "Don't touch me, don't touch me!" The boy quickly took his hand away and frowned out of worry, all eyes now on them. He glanced at the books that were on the ground and was about to pick them up for her, but before he could do anything, one of his friends pulled him by the shoulder and away from her.

"Don't even try to concern yourself with her. You'll waste your time with this freak. C'mon, let's go." Kairi watched in fear as the group of boys quickly got away from her. It wasn't until they were out of plain sight that she finally calmed down enough to pick up her books and go. This time, she nearly sprinted, not wanting to be in the flooded hallway any second longer.

Once in her first period history class, Kairi sat herself down in her desk that was in the far back away. Finding herself a bit early, she simply crossed her arms on the desk and rested her head on them. It was only the morning, and she was already exhausted. She had hoped that her reputation in this high school was enough for people to get the hint to stay away from her, but it backfired, seeing that someone dared to walk that close to her.

She rose up when the bell rang and took out her book for the period. As she opened to the page that was instructed of her, she stared at her two hands, which were still slightly shaking from the touch of a male.

"Dude, did you know that Sora literally got assaulted by her screams this morning?" she heard one of her classmates whisper to his friend. "She's got some nerves. All he did was accidentally bump into her, and she just explodes like that!"

"I was right there when it happened. Geez, it was just a small bump." Kairi tried not to cry as she heard all the hateful comments about her. She must've bumped into someone popular for them to just talk like that right in front of her.

 _It's not like I wanted to be like this…_

Closing her eyes and clenching her hands into fists, she willed herself to just get over it for the period so that she could focus in class. _This is normal, Kairi. This is the life you just have to live here. Don't be influenced like this. Don't._

As her history teacher went on about the times of the Romans, Kairi wondered why she just had to be a germ to society, why she turned out to be this way, and why she had to deal with this suffering alone. Hiding her face in her hands, she could only retreat back into her shell for safety, away from the looks of scorn and disgust.

During winters, she always wore turtle necks; it made her feel less bare and more protected as the cloth covered almost every layer of skin on her body. Hair always tied in a pony tail and glasses always sitting on the bridge of her nose, she really did fit the image of a closeted freak. Sometimes she did look at the other girls around her with envy. With the way they glowed with youth and the pretty clothes that they wore that Kairi can never imagine on her own body, she just wished that she could be like them too.

 _Keep dreaming, 'cause you're too disgusting_. Kairi let out a sigh as she braced herself for the bell. Every time the bell rang for the end of class, it marked her death wish. She would be forced to mesh along with everyone, share the same air as everyone, and get compressed between every single body that made her nauseous.

 _Every day, every day, every day…_

When school was finally over, it was time for the day to actually start. Walking slowly down the sidewalk and towards the bus stop, Kairi dreaded what she had to do when she arrived home. Even though school gave her a tough time, it was solace compared to what awaited her at home. She sat and waited for the bus to come. Rather, she hoped the bus _wouldn't_ come.

"Pretty grass," she commented to herself as she played with it with her feet. It glistened underneath the sun that was hidden behind the thin clouds that marked the sky. _At least the world is still beautiful._

When the bus came, she readily clambered up the stairs and sat at the far end of the bus, where there was barely anybody. She made sure she sat in the corner while placing her bag on the seat next to her so that no one else could sit there. She felt bad when people had to stand when there were no seats available during rush hour, but she couldn't afford to have an episode on the bus ride home.

Resting her head on the window, she stared at the trees that passed by and the trail of cars that traveled alongside the bus.

And that was when she just let the tears slip from her eyes and down her pale cheeks. These fifteen minutes of solitude was the only time she could just let it all out before she hardened herself once more. The bus ride home—her only time to just be herself.

 _The world is still beautiful, Kairi. It is, it is._

~.~.~

"Jesus, you good for nothing—just get out!" Kairi shakily put down the hot frying pan and turned off the stove. She flinched when her father threw the plate down into the sink, glad that it didn't break from the force. Quickly washing her hands, she ran upstairs and shut herself up in her room. She could hear her father's rage downstairs and the clink of beer bottles being rummaged around in the fridge. Sliding down the door, she covered her ears, letting the sounds of silence just flood over her and calm her down.

"Kairi, it's okay, it's okay. Just keep calm and you'll be okay," Kairi muttered to herself, watching her breathing as she shut her eyes shut. "You're going to be okay. You're going to sleep fine tonight. You will, you will." Opening her eyes to see the family portrait hung above her wall, she stared at the kind eyes of her mother and cried. "I wish you were still here, Mom. I think Dad also wishes you were here too…"

The next day at school, she could feel the stares intensify.

"Sora wouldn't hurt a fly."

"She's more of a freak than I thought she was."

"She seriously makes me uncomfortable at school."

"Hey, what'll happen if we just get close to her?" Kairi felt her skin crawl the moment she heard that. She clutched her books and attempted to walk faster so that nothing could happen, but she was a little bit too slow.

"Hey, hey, hey, what's the rush?" She inhaled violently as she stared at the guy who had placed a hand on the lockers, blocking her path. She ignored his gaze and tried to circle around him, but another person blocked that path as well. The third one blocked her path from behind. Looking at all three of them in the face with fear, she recognized them as some players from the blitzball team.

"Look, she shrinks like a dry sponge when I just do this to her!" One of them took a finger and hovered it near her cheek, causing her to plaster herself against the locker to be as far away as she could. Even if she didn't go ballistic when no one touches her, just close proximity was enough to trigger her.

"I need to go to class," she tried, but that only earned snickers and giggles from the three boys.

"Tidus, stop being such a bully. You know she doesn't like it when you do that."

"Oh, shut up, Wakka. What do you think you're doing with your foot?" Kairi looked down and paled to see his shoe touching hers. She could already feel her heart rate pick up, but no matter what mantra she was reciting in her head, she could feel herself already starting to get dizzy. They were cruel; they were sticking so close to her but they made sure that there was no physical contact at all just to taunt her.

" _Little girl, you're going to be alright. This kind man will take care of you tonight."_ Shutting her eyes closed, she tried not to vomit her breakfast from this morning.

"Is she falling asleep already? Hey, hey," Kairi was about to lose it when one of the guys reached their hand towards her shoulder, but before he could do anything, a hand stopped him.

"Guys, did you run out of things to do?"

"Captain!" It was as if they were controlled under a spell, for the three boys suddenly took huge steps away from her to face their captain. Kairi used this moment to stabilize herself and take deep breaths. The person they called captain had a huge frown etched on his face as he stared down all three of them. He, the person who everyone knew as the bundle of smiles and laughter, never looked so upset as he looked at his teammates one-by-one.

"I usually don't get mad, but when I do, I can be your worst nightmare." As if to emphasize his point, he punched a fist into his hand. "Do you want me to be your worst nightmare?"

"No, cap'!"

"Now get going." Sora tried not to break into a smile as he watched his teammates just skedaddle out of his sight. Letting out a small laugh when they were out of earshot, he turned to address Kairi. "Sorry about tha—oh, she already disappeared. Hm, darn." Kairi was long gone before he could say anything to her. "And I wanted to talk to her too… I don't think I'm that scary." He scratched his head, as if completely mystified by her disappearance, before one of his friends called out to him.

"Sora, you're going to be late to class, you goofball. Leonhart's not going to give you any special treatment, so hurry up! Sora!"

"Yada, yada, I heard you the first time, Riku. What a grumpy mama chicken you are!" Looking back behind him to make sure the redhead did indeed disappear off somewhere, Sora ran to catch up to his friend.

Kairi clutched her chest, calming herself down so that she wouldn't start freaking out. High schoolers these days sure were devious; that was the first time that anybody tried to pull any gimmicks like that against her. She sighed—the last thing she wanted to become was someone's entertainment.

"No one understands…" Although, she didn't expect anyone to understand anyway. Shouldering her backpack securely, she rushed off to class, putting what happened this morning behind her. _I would've been toast if that guy didn't show up. They called him captain…_

Kairi didn't feel like eating lunch that day, so she opted to just head outside to a secluded area behind the high school. The warm sun of the winter warmed the grass, making it appear as if it was glowing. Because it looked so soft and lush, Kairi couldn't help but just sit down and lay on it. Nature was one of the only calming forces in her life. It tickled her and always caressed her with love and affection. It never failed to set her mind into an everlasting serenity.

Loving the way the sunshine warmed up her entire body, Kairi closed her eyes and let nature itself lull her to sleep.

Sora, who was right by the bench at the corner, was surprised to see someone just sleeping on the grass right underneath the sun when he was about to walk back into the school. He usually spent time around this area just to do some clear-headed thinking; the last thing he expected to see was a sleeping princess all comfortable in the grass. When he quietly got a little bit closer, he recognized her as the redhead that not only bumped into him the other day, but also ran away from him this morning.

"Grass is soft, isn't it?" he murmured to himself as he smiled. He had seen her many times before—the "freak" that haunted the hallways of the school whenever she was present. She always had a frightened look on her face, but here outside on the grass, she looked like what she was supposed to look like—a girl with no nightmares haunting her.

Feeling a bit magical, Sora took out a slip of paper and scribbled a few things on it. Quietly sneaking up to her, he placed it right next to her before he scampered off back into the school.

When she woke up, she read the mysterious piece of paper.

 _I think a smile fits your image a little bit more. Smile more, since your life is still beautiful :)_

* * *

Hey guys! This chapter just serves as a little sneak-peek/preview of what I'm going to write when I finish my other fanfic **Mending Strands**. I had to write this chapter down first before I forget! I would really appreciate reviews for this, since I want to know if you guys dig this type of story/flow or not. I promise chapters get longer than this (I write a lot lot longer chapters than this, I swear). I'll update this more frequently once I finish my other fanfic! Thanks guys, I hope you enjoy this :)


	2. Chapter 2

" _You know, life probably won't turn out the way you planned it to, but, my sweet child, it all works out in the end. For me, I have you and Daddy. What could be better!"_

 _An angelic smile._

 _A pool of blood._

"No!" Kairi shot up from her bed and gasped for air in the middle of the darkness. Her eyes immediately darted towards her clock: 5:37 a.m. From the windows, the sun had barely peaked above the horizon.

Once she held a firm grasp to reality, Kairi calmed her breathings and patted her chest. The nightmares recently had been getting a bit too vivid for her liking. She wondered how long she can sleep through such nights.

Seeing no use going back to sleep in her current state, Kairi decided to start another dreadful day early. Back then, it was easy for her to just get up from bed and start the day, but now, it just got harder.

She just felt so _dead._

Kairi simply moved like a robot and got things ready.

After she brushed her teeth and washed up, she opened her closet and surveyed its contents. Kairi would've liked to say that her closet had a variety of things, but then she would be lying. Long-sleeves and turtlenecks and scarfs and long pants overloaded her closet, not letting any room for clothes like T-shirts and shorts to breathe. The only thing she could brag about her wardrobe was the different colored sweaters she had—they all did come in an array of shapes and patterns. To take it even further, she could even probably proclaim herself to be the only Destiny Islander to own so many sweaters and long pants.

"Very glad it's winter…" Kairi said to herself before she decided on some navy-blue sweater and black sweatpants. Quickly tying her hair up in a ponytail and grabbing her backpack near her desk, she went down the stairs quietly. As she did so, she had her fingers crossed behind her back—it was her own little spell in hopes that the day would go by as smoothly as possible for her.

"Kairi! Good morning!" At the sound of her father's voice, Kairi winced instinctively out of fear before she emerged from the wall and entered the kitchen. There her father sat, newspaper in hands and a warm cup of coffee just steaming on the table in front of him. A smile graced his features. Under normal circumstances, she would've returned it.

However, these weren't normal circumstances.

"Good morning, Dad."

"Heading to school?"

"Yes."

"Do you want to grab any breakfast on the way there or anything? It's a mighty cold day today—you might want to pack in some extra calories today for all the shivering you'll be going through." Kairi forced her lips to tilt up slightly.

"I'm good."

"You sure?"

"Yes."

"Okay then. Have a good day at school!" At his goodbye, Kairi literally ran out of the door to escape her home, feet only half-way in her shoes. It was when she was at the end of the block that she finally stopped to put her shoes on and tie them. The warm sun kissed her skin, as if congratulating her for getting through that part of the morning. In response, she smiled to herself.

She was very glad that it was one of _those_ mornings—a morning where she could just step out of her house with no trouble. However, it was a bit too early to celebrate. _Time to head to school._

Since it way too early to begin the school day, Kairi sat at a dry bench and got herself comfortable there. The view of the nearly-empty school grounds always gave her peace. The emptiness of it all gave her the ability to walk through the grounds like a normal person would—it allowed her to _feel_ a bit, what it would be like if she could attend school normally.

"Friends, huh?" She watched as her warm breath mingled with the cold air before she shuffled through her backpack for her knitting kit. One of her hobbies was to make things, whether it be a scarf or a stuffed animal. It just let the time pass quicker for her.

Before she could get started, however, a piece of paper fell out during the process. Curiously, she picked it up and unfolded it, only to remember what it was.

 _I think a smile fits your image a little bit more. Smile more, since your life is still beautiful :)_

When Kairi first saw it after her little nap, she honestly thought it was a bad joke played by someone. No one was ever nice to a "freak" like her. However, when she rethought about it, she doubted anyone would take the time to actually do this type of thing to her, even as a joke. At the end, all she could do was wonder—she'll probably never find out the truth behind this note anyway.

" _My_ life is still beautiful?" Kairi would've laughed if she felt more alive. As if to test it out, she forced her lips to form a smile, only to feel very unnatural. Dropping the smile immediately, she looked at the piece of paper in her hand and tapped it with a finger amusingly. "If only you knew." She didn't care if it could've been a mean joke—at least it was a nice-sounding joke. Deciding that such a thing didn't deserve to be in the trash, Kairi took out her binder and placed it within the folds, safely hidden and tucked in.

 _I wonder who wrote this._

The bell for passing period rang soon after, snapping Kairi out of her knitting mode. She mentally cursed at herself for forgetting the time. Part of her routine was to come to school early to avoid the morning rush, but now the morning rush was inevitable. Quickly stuffing everything back in her backpack, Kairi hurried to class.

Before she entered the door to the hallways, Kairi took a deep breath, hugged her books tighter to her chest—it made her feel as if she could shrink herself—and braced herself. With a push against the double doors with her side, she began the journey through the packed hallways.

One thing she was thankful for about her reputation was that it, again, made people steer clear away from her. The first few days she first entered high school were rough, but after a few screams and shrieks here and there, it didn't take long for news to spread about her. So, the moment she took a step into the hallway, people repulsed away from her like oil to water.

"Make way, make way, the repelling magnet is here," she heard some guy joke as he made sure a good distance was between him and her. "She might blast you away with her screams." When she first heard comments like this, it took a heavy toll on her, but now, she was just immune. Hearing things were better than touching things.

When she arrived at her locker, she sighed at the sight. She wasn't surprised to see a bunch of yellow sticky-notes with mean comments scribbled on it plastered on her locker door. With a quick glance, she could see some of the messages.

"You make the halls feel suffocating, your shrieks are so loud, I wish you were mute whenever you're near me, your expression is depressing," Kairi read some of the messages to herself before she heaved another heavy sigh. "Isn't the first time this happened to me…"

The thing about high school was that people were less obnoxious and rude and mean than in middle school. Kairi shuddered—she didn't even want to think back to middle school, where the real intense and immature bullying was. Here, people had self-restraints. And some, dare she say it, at least had the capability to have a heart. Little mean comments and gossip-worthy chitter chatter were prevalent, but it was definitely better than middle school.

However, that didn't justify it, by any means.

 _But then again, my condition itself isn't justified._ Is it?

Opening her locker—Kairi decided to just leave the dumb notes there because if she took them off, more would just come to replace them—she swapped one of the textbooks in her hands for the textbook she needed for her algebra class before she shut the door close and walked back to her class in fear.

 _Another day, another nightmare._

Right when Kairi turned the corner, Sora emerged from another with his best friend, Riku.

"Dude, are you just excited as me for the new upcoming game?" Riku asked. "Don't tell me you aren't."

" _Pfft_ , I've been waiting six years for this game, of course I'm excited! I feel sad for other fans though. Waiting fourteen years is, ugh, too much." As the two of them continued to converse while heading towards class, Sora suddenly paused in his walking. Noticing that Sora had fallen behind, Riku turned around and gave him the raised eyebrow.

"What's up?" Sora shook his head and shooed Riku away with a hand.

"You head off to class first. I forgot my textbook in my locker." Riku frowned at the textbook that was in Sora's hand. Noticing where his line of sight was, Sora swiftly hid it behind his back and smiled his usual smile. Inside his head, however, he wished he had come up with a better excuse that was less lame. "Go." Knowing better than to deal with Sora's funkiness, Riku rolled his eyes and excused himself.

"Alrighty then. See you later." Sora kept his smile up until Riku turned the corner to leave. When he was out of sight, Sora dropped the smile and turned around to face the locker that was sadly ambushed by yellow sticky notes. Wondering what was the deal, he didn't have to ponder too long to know whose locker it belonged to when he read some of the comments.

"People sure are mean," he said to himself as he gently touched all the sticky notes. When the bell rang to signal the beginning of class, he muttered a "darn it" before swinging his backpack over to his front and opening the smaller zip.

~.~.~

"Kairi, how have you been doing?" Kairi uncomfortably stood in front of her psychology teacher, Ms. Gainsborough. In her head, Kairi kind of regretted taking psychology. There, she would be scrutinized under the eyes of an adult who was more aware than others.

"I'm good," Kairi answered, not meeting her eyes. Ms. Gainsborough sighed. By now, Kairi highly doubted that the school staff didn't know about her. She was grateful that none of them really approached her, but she couldn't say the same for Ms. Gainsborough.

All Kairi had done was wait for everyone to turn in their paper before she turned hers in to avoid the crowd, but half of her wished she didn't—Ms. Gainsborough took the chance to strike a conversation. Letting out a breath of relief, however, Kairi immediately relaxed when Ms. Gainsborough dropped it.

"Alright. Stay warm out there." At her dismissal, Kairi quickly exited the classroom, not at all looking back. With that encounter, Kairi made sure to never to be with Ms. Gainsborough alone.

The immediate vacancy of the school signaled the end of the day and the start of Kairi's day. Walking back towards her locker to put her textbooks back in, Kairi felt the familiar dread that always crept inside her afterschool. Wondering what faced her at home today, Kairi squeezed her eyes shut for a moment before opening back up to walk to her locker.

At first, she opened the locker without sparing a second glance at the notes—looking at them would just make her feel worse—but when she noticed something slightly different about them, she didn't hesitate to see what it was.

 _You don't make the halls feel suffocating._

 _You're much quieter than the seagulls squawking their heads off with their poop brigade :(_

 _I wouldn't want you to go mute. I think your voice could be very lovely._

 _I think you're beautiful! :)_

Kairi stared flabbergasted at the little messages that replaced the hateful ones from earlier this morning. Instead of messy scribbles, each letter was written carefully and neatly. Next to them were silly faces that actually made Kairi almost laugh. Amazed, she leafed through each one of them hanging on her locker with her fingers before she gently peeled them off. When she gave them a closer inspection, she realized something and quickly took her binder out of her backpack. Taking out the piece of paper from the other day, she put it next to the sticky notes and widened her eyes.

They all had the same handwriting.

Suddenly, there was only one blaring thought blasting through her mind.

 _Who is this?_

An emotion—a feeling she hadn't felt a for a long time—suddenly invaded, and she clasped the little notes to her chest closely. A small hiccup was all it took for her to let the tears run down her cheeks.

 _I'm alive._

* * *

I said that I wasn't going to update this until I finished my other story, but sometimes, things happen.

Writer's block :((((( I've been really focused trying to finish my other fanfic that my brain is literally fried. So, as a little breather, here's another small chapter! Tell me how it's going so far :) Reviews make me happy and makes me believe that my storywriting isn't too bad XD

This chapter was written a lot smoother, since it's a different story with different themes. Hopefully it'll flesh out to be a story I'll be proud of LOL


	3. Chapter 3

On the evening of Kairi's fifth birthday, Kairi had just wanted to see the pretty balloons she got gifted with float up in the air and reflect the twilight sky. So, without telling any adults, she took the balloons and stepped out of her front door and into the streets. Giggling happily, Kairi twirled her body, balloons spinning with her while the red sun said goodbye.

 _"Little girl, you're going to be alright. This kind man will take care of you tonight."_

 _Beep, beep, beep!_

"No!" Kairi shot up from her bed for the nth time that week. World spinning for a second around her, Kairi clasped her head with her hand and let out a groan. With her other hand, she slammed the alarm clock off and buried her face back into her pillows. She wondered when she could ever rid herself of these horrible nightmares that seemed to have fun stripping peaceful sleep away from her.

After three more minutes, Kairi didn't waste time and got ready for school. Putting up her signature ponytail and wearing her sweater and sweatpants, Kairi hurriedly packed all her things by shoving them off her table and into her backpack. As she did so, her eyes didn't fail to look at the sticky notes she taped onto her wall.

 _I think you're beautiful! :)_

Kairi wondered what type of person who wrote the kind messages was to be able to call her, a speck an of existence, _beautiful._

"Beautiful," she whispered. The word was foreign to her and felt very strange when it passed through her lips. Along with all the other notes, it slowly became a source of light for her—a hope that there really were people out there who didn't think of her as a weirdo.

 _Or maybe the person just pities you. Pities the pathetic you_ , the other half of her said. _Everyone has a heart—a heart to feel sorry for people like you._

Kairi smiled a sad smile at the sticky notes on the wall before closing her door quietly and making her way down. Once more, it didn't matter if all of it was just a sick joke. At least, for a moment, it made her feel _tangible._ Even if just for a brief moment, when she read them at their initial discovery, she felt like she was just a normal girl who lived a normal life.

However, she quickly returned to the way she felt before: tired, weary, and dead.

Tiptoeing down the stairs with her fingers crossed behind her back, Kairi perked her ears up to see how the situation was today. Kairi bit her bottom lip when she heard sobs in the kitchen.

" _Hic…_ wish you were here..." Kairi closed her eyes, feeling her father's pain for a brief moment before she put half of her feet into her shoes and bolted out the door once more to avoid any interaction. Once again, she didn't stop to tie her shoes until she was at the very end of the block. Kairi patted herself on the back—she wondered how she wasn't tired of this routine yet.

 _Will this ever end?_

~.~.~

"Sora, you big doofus! Grow some maturity here!" Sora laughed as he held the hairbrush in his hand high up in the air and away from his friend Selphie. Due to their staggering height difference, there was no way Selphie could ever reach it.

"I'll give you your hairbrush back if you give me back my jacket!"

"No way, it's super cold! Be a gentleman, you bum!"

"What a bully, Sora," a person said with a smirk as he passed by the hallway. Glancing back to see who said that, Sora grinned when he recognized who it was.

"Roxas, what a bright morning today, isn't it?" His friend simply rolled his eyes at the brunet's enthusiasm so early in the morning before he continued on his way towards his class. Momentarily distracted, Sora almost lowered the brush to be within Selphie's reach before he raised it up again.

"Why are you like this to me?" Selphie whined, stomping a foot in protest. Sora scrunched his face up as he shook his head.

"I'm just doing your head a favor. Forcing the ends of your hair to curl up just by brushing it will make you grow bald in less than a day's time." Selphie jumped up in another attempt to snatch her hairbrush back but failed again. Sora stuck his tongue out at her. "You should come back after you've grown a few more inches!"

"Ugh, you're horrible!" Sora simply laughed. Just when he thought Selphie couldn't get more annoyed, her facial features morphed into a look of unsettlement when she looked at what was moving behind him. Confused, he shot her a raised brow before he glanced behind him.

Kairi, with her infamous crouched posture, moved quickly through the halls, books held protectively over her chest. Her eyes were casted down, but not too much so that she could see where she went. Sora didn't quite get a good look at her face before she disappeared around the corner. Just as she disappeared, the halls returned to normal as everyone flooded the space where she just went through.

"I can never understand that weirdo," Selphie said next to him as they both looked at the corner where she went off to. "We don't even do anything to her, yet she treats us like we're diseases. I'll have her know that I'm as clean as a baby's tooshie!"

"Selphie, don't say it like that," Sora chided with a small smile. However, it was getting a bit hard to keep it on his face. Selphie simply flipped her hair over her shoulder and let out a _hmmp_.

"Her fashion just dulls the mood too. Constantly wearing sweaters and sweatpants—it's as if she has fat she wants to hide or something. What do you think, Sora?" Uncomfortable with the way Selphie switched over to her renown gossip mode, Sora simply shrugged.

"I don't know. I think she's cute." Sora had no intentions of letting that last comment slip out of his mouth—he just knew Selphie would misunderstand and take it the wrong way—but it was too late. Selphie blinked at him, patted the sides of her head where her ears were, and squished his face between her hands.

"Sora, do you need to make a call to the optometrist soon?" Sora swatted her hand away, and before he could even say anything back in Kairi's defense, the bell rang. Letting the issue go, Selphie shouldered her bags and smiled at him. "Let's head to class! I already have seven tardies for history…" Sora chuckled.

"I have eight. Let's go."

~.~.~

Kairi squeezed her eyes closed, forcing herself to calm down. The same disgusting feeling started to overflow her senses as she chanted the same mantra to herself.

 _You're okay, Kairi, you're okay._

Leaning her side against the lockers after the bell had rung for the first class of the day, Kairi was late as she took deep breaths. Of course, this always happened, the one or two people who failed to stay out of her way during the day. Luckily, she stopped in her tracks right before the boy almost bumped into her. She didn't want to have to scream anymore.

After she felt herself return somewhat back to normal, Kairi hurried to class, not wanting to be too late to attract attention.

The teachers knew better than to scold her. When she walked in late, he simply just gave her a sigh and resumed his teachings. The only reason why she got spared was because she did relatively well in school—it was best to just leave her alone.

And alone she felt. The moment she reached her desk, she placed her bag down on the floor and laid her head within her arms. Shielding herself from the world once more, she closed her eyes and drowned everything out.

The loneliness really did kill her inside sometimes.

Which could be considered normal since she was human too. Deep inside, she wished she at least had someone to talk to—anyone—or even just greet in the morning. However, even if she tried, she doubted anyone would ever want to associate themselves with her.

A person of pure kindness—does that person exist?

Her hopeful thoughts led her back towards the person who wrote her the notes, but she quickly wiped those silly thoughts out of her mind. Having hopes just made her feel bad when they never came true.

When she came back home afterschool, she held her crossed fingers behind her back. Today, she didn't have much hope that it would go smoothly like it had been for the past week since it _had_ been a week. It would be too good to be true if the peacefulness lasted longer. Her prediction came true when the sound of a glass bottle breaking pierced her ears the moment she stepped a foot inside the house.

"Who is it?" Scared, Kairi revealed herself immediately.

"Hi, Dad." Kairi stepped away from one of the sparkling glass shards that was right next to her feet, but she did more then just step away. She yelped when her father threw a wad of newspaper at her.

"You… it's all _your_ fault…" The look in her father's eyes frightened her. They were wide and bloodshot. Wearing the same clothes he wore yesterday, Kairi concluded that he failed to go to work today. His red hair was disorderly, and his clothes were horribly wrinkled for sleeping in them for the night. Face slightly flushed from the alcohol, he certainly wasn't in his right mind today either.

"I'm sorry," Kairi whispered. It was all she could say in an attempt to calm him down. She took a deep breath when her father suddenly sauntered over to her and grabbed her by the collar of her sweater. Her phobia did not trigger as much when it involved her own father, but it still made her feel uneasy and sick. She felt choked as her father bore his eyes into hers before he decided to just let her go and circled around to sit back on the sofa. He then buried his face into his hands, signaling Kairi to just leave. Feeling her neck, she ran up the stairs to escape.

Shutting the door with a slam, Kairi slid down against it and clutched the sides of her head. She could hear her father begin to let yells of anguish take over the house. Sadly, his emotions affected her greatly as well, for she began to feel the same pain and cradled herself in her arms.

"It's all my fault… It's all my fault." Her mind started to replay flashbacks she did not want to ever remember. The engine, the smell of gas, the curb.

Yes, it was her fault.

All.

Her.

Fault.

 _My fault._

"Your fault!" She jumped when her father punched her door on his way towards the bathroom upstairs—the one downstairs was broken. To make herself feel more protected, she rolled her turtleneck to cover the entirety of her neck and dove straight into her blankets. Curling herself in a shrimp position, she could only wait for all of it to disappear, only for it to cycle back once more.

If only she could break the cycle.

"Someone help me."

~.~.~

As if to make her life gloomier the next day in school, her hair tie suddenly broke when she was walking down the hallways during lunch. The broken hair tie released her soft red hair, causing it to suddenly fall over face in a crazed manner. Her hand instinctively felt her head as she mentally let out a groan. Already, she could already feel her hair getting all poofy as if she went through an electric fence.

"Look at that, now she really looks like a banshee," she heard someone whisper to his friend. Suddenly feeling embarrassed for some reason, Kairi didn't even bother to remove the hair out of her face as she quickly exited out the hallways and out into the outdoors to find a lone bench she could sit at.

Inside the cafeteria, Sora's eyes caught her familiar red hair through the window while he sat in a circular table with all his friends. He wasn't the only one to notice her since half of them faced the window.

"Oh gosh, I can feel some sort of dark aura just floating around her," he heard Riku say as he looked at the redhead. Kairi had sat down on the bench, hair frazzled around her face as if she never combed it before. "She's literally haunting that bench she's sitting at as we speak, don't you think? Look, there's literally nobody in her vicinity." Roxas lazily glanced an eye at what Riku was talking about before rolling his eyes.

"I would keep those type of mean comments to yourself."

"I mean, I usually do, but damn, I wish I had that type of power to just ward people off, especially the girls."

"Oh, just shut up, you narcissist," Selphie said from across the table. She turned around to see what everyone was talking about before grimacing. "The only thing that really ticks me off about her is her fashion. It's the youthful age for girls, youthful!" Sora calmly sipped his milk through a straw as he listened to his friends being all judgmental. "With her hair down like that, she really does look like some sort of ghost."

"How about offering her one of your hair ties if you're so bothered by her image?" Sora said innocently. He made sure to keep his tone light, for he wouldn't want to sound like he was attacking them. Selphie glanced at the bunch of hair ties that were on her wrist before shaking her head.

"I wouldn't want my hair ties to… get dirty." Sora left it at that, but it was getting increasingly hard to just stay still. He could see some people point criticizing fingers at her as they walked by the window. When one person walked past Kairi only to sneer at her, Sora had enough.

"I'm borrowing this."

"Hey!" In one swift motion, Sora tore one of Selphie's hair ties off her wrist and stood up.

"Sora, where you going?" Riku asked in confusion as Sora cleaned his tray to throw away.

"Going to head to class early. Only five minutes left before the bell rings. If I get another tardy, I'm toast." Before any of his friends could respond, Sora had already dumped the contents of his tray into the trash and left.

Walking past Kairi's locker, Sora slipped the hair tie within the small slits of the door and made his way towards class.

When Kairi opened her locker after her second to last class of the day, the sight of the black hair tie astonished her. Quickly, she took it within her hands to verify that hallucinations weren't causing her to go crazy before she quickly put her hair back into a ponytail. If she had known, she would've checked her lockers ages ago. Too overwhelmed, Kairi closed the locker door and leaned her forehead against it. Three nice things happened to her in the span of two weeks—that seemed crazy to Kairi.

 _Who are you?_

~ _Later that day~_

Kairi felt adrenaline rushing through her body as she dodged the bottle of ketchup thrown at her. She had a hard time trying to keep her calm as her father gave her a deranged look.

"Why are you here, and not her?" Kairi shook slightly as her father broke a dish by throwing it down the sink. In the back of her mind, she had to remind herself to go to the store and buy more glass plates.

"I'm sorry," was the only thing she could say once again.

"I wish you were gone instead of her!" Kairi knew best to just go in her room and hide whenever her father was having an episode, but for most of the time, she couldn't. Always, she had a hope that maybe if she just stayed by her father's side as support, he would get better.

Her wishful thinking was pitiful.

"Out, out, out! I just can't stand to see you!" Kairi started to become scared when her father took the stick side of the broom and waved it around to shoo her away. Inside, she knew he wouldn't really do anything to her with it, but she wasn't going to stay to test it. With him blocking the way up the stairs, the only exit was the front door. Quickly slipping her feet into her sandals, she unlocked the door and shut it closed behind her before she ran. Where she ran, she didn't know—all she wanted to do was find freedom. The more she lived this life, the more she swore she was going to go crazy someday. Insane even.

She didn't plan on being there, but before she knew it, her feet took her to the beach that was right by her home. Gasping for breath, she placed her hands on her knees before she stood up straight and looked at the calm waves of the sea. When a soft breeze kicked in, her medium-length hair that she kept down at home flew over her face.

"Gosh… how did things turn out like this?" she said to herself as she tucked her hair over her ear and walked closer to the shore. It had been a while since she had gone to the beach—she had spent most of her time outside of school just trying to make things better at home. By the distance, she could see a couple playing with the sand and chasing each other, a scene straight out of the movies she watched. Smiles, laughter, joy—what did it feel like again?

Finding a good spot to just settle down, Kairi hugged her knees to her chest, shivering from the cold. Clad only in her home clothes that consisted of loose pants and a T-shirt, she forgot to wear her typical winter clothes before she left. Luckily, there weren't too many people who were out in the beach in the middle of winter.

As the sun set over the horizon, the waves lulled her gently to a peaceful daze. Here, it was quiet, and it was comforting. It was as if the waves were sweeping all her troubles away, each grain of sand at a time. A happier time suddenly surfaced in her mind, a time where all three them were together and, well, _happy._

" _Hic_ …" Since no one would take notice of her anyway, she freely cried into her knees, letting all the dark emotions just spill out and get washed away by the sea for the day. Tomorrow, they would just come back, and she would have to find another way to get rid of them once more. It was an endless, endless cycle. "So lonely…" Her heart cried out for someone—anyone—to expel the loneliness and make her remember what it felt like to be… alive. To make her remember what it was like to lead a normal life.

To remember what it felt like to be Kairi.

And then, the skies heard her plea.

"Um, Kairi?" At the masculine voice that was a bit too near for her comfort, Kairi quickly shot her head up and frantically crawled backwards. She stopped when she realized that the distance wasn't as close as she thought it was when she looked up to see who had called her out.

 _Beautiful._

That was the first word that popped up in Kairi's head when she beheld the sight before her. The red sky illuminated the edges of his figure while the seas shined prettily across the horizon. Spiky-hair glistening with a few drops of water and his hands on his knees to see her face clearer, the boy and his sparkling ocean-blue eyes observed her curiously. When he was sure that he got the right person, he smiled brightly, eyes crinkling kindly at her.

"It is you; I was right. Why are you—oh." He felt a bit dumb for realizing too late her tear-stricken cheeks as she regarded him cautiously. He would've handed her a handkerchief, and he would've given her his jacket to get rid of those horrible goosebumps running across her arms, but he didn't. He didn't want to do anything that would frighten her.

So, instead, he just simply talked to her.

"At first, I didn't recognize you." It was more than just "didn't recognize." He plain out did not think it was her at all as he spotted her during his beach walk. Only her familiar red hair and the way it glowed underneath the sun helped him in identifying her. With her hair down and her clothes being not some sweater or sweatpants for once, Kairi looked nothing like she did in school.

Kairi quickly wiped the remnants of tears off her face and eyed him. She was like a frightened animal, frozen in place in front of him as she struggled with what to do. Who was this guy? Why was he suddenly approaching her? What was she supposed to do? She never talked to anyone at school, and no one talked to her—this was an entirely new experience for her. Was she supposed to respond back? What would she even say? She didn't even know who he was. Didn't he regard her as the freak like everyone else did at school? Eyes trained on him for any sudden movements, she did not respond to him. She left him awkwardly looking at her as he himself struggled with what to say since she didn't say anything back.

"Are you cold?" It was as if his question finally made her realize the big goosebumps spreading all over her body, for she hugged her body closer to her for warmth. Sora bit his bottom lip in unease. He shouldn't be feeling this way, but he felt like he was walking on a tightrope the more he stood in Kairi's presence. "Would my jacket help?" Kairi suddenly grew embarrassed and shook her head furiously.

"It's okay," she finally said softly. That seemed to encourage the boy, for his former smile returned.

"It's really cold, so go home soon, okay? The beach in the middle of the winter is a big no-no in those type of clothes." Kairi shyly looked away before she nodded—she just wanted him to go away so that she could breathe a little bit better. He made her uncomfortable. Catching the drift, Sora stood up straight and stretched his hands above his head for a moment. Before he left, however, he gave her another glance and laughed. She looked up curiously, wondering what he was laughing about. Suddenly, a light tinge of anxiety touched upon her—what if he was laughing at _her?_

"You should let your hair down more. I think you look nice." He glanced at her and nodded enthusiastically to affirm his statement. "Mhm."

Kairi took a sharp inhale. Sora smiled cheekily.

 _What?_

The mysterious boy left before she could even utter a sound.

~.~.~

For the first time in a very long time, Kairi hid behind a corner and peeked her head out just enough for her to observe what went on in the other side. People must've been staring holes into her back to just move and get out of their sights, but for a moment, she forgot about all of them.

"Dude, you gotta learn how to mind your own business!" a blonde girl half-yelled, half-laughed at him. Sora had his two arms wrapped around her neck from behind her almost to a near choke as he let some of his weight go backwards. It looked like the girl was hauling some sort of load as she struggled to walk and rid herself of the parasite latched onto her.

"I won't get off of you until you tell me the truth!"

"There's no truth to tell!"

"You lie! You can't lie to me!" Next to the two were a silver-haired boy and a brown-haired girl, who both were just watching the two of them out of pure amusement. "The skies watch, Namine—they have eyes!"

"Oh, _please_ , you weirdo!" After enough horsing around, Sora finally let her go with a laugh before he messed up her hair with an affectionate—Kairi wasn't sure if it was actually affectionate—rub on the head, earning a snarl from her.

"I'm going to make you spit the truth out like mouth wash one day, mark my words, Namine. Mark. My. Wor—"

"And what in the world is going on over here? I can hear your guy's scream from two darn halls away." A blonde boy suddenly emerged from the corner right next to them, joining the circle of friends naturally. From behind them, Kairi could see Sora tickle Namine's back away from the sight of their friends. Namine simply shrugged him off as she continued to maintain a controlled face.

Kairi longed to have a situation like that. All of them seemed to be close—a life they should be having as high schoolers. They all seemed to care for one another and truly enjoyed each other's company. Kairi sighed. She wondered if she could find a high school life like theirs.

She mentally laughed. _As if._

She initially stopped because she spotted Sora. After their little meeting at the beach yesterday, she suddenly felt too awkward to face him. Wanting to avoid him at all costs, she waited for him to disappear, but the opposite effect happened as his circle of friends simply stuck around. However, she figured that he wouldn't spot her anyway now that his full attention was on his friends, so she stepped away from her corner and proceeded to walk through the hallways.

For some reason, despite all the usual stares that she got, she could suddenly feel his eyes on her out of the many. Wondering when she gained the power to just _feel_ a stare, Kairi escaped out of his sight before he did something she would not be comfortable with.

"Something the matter, Sora?" his silver-haired best friend inquired when he saw the slightest of frowns play on Sora's expression. Sora snapped out of it and gave Riku a questioning look.

"Hm, is something the matter?"

"… I'm the one asking you that." Crossing his arms, Sora gave it some thought before he decided to confide in his friends.

"I have a question. Be honest with me, you all." The four of them looked at the spiky-haired boy in confusion before they nodded. "Am I," Sora moved his hands all over his face for emphasis, "scary?"

"Bah!" Roxas had to steady himself on the locker by an arm as he thumped it with a hand. A silent laugh escaped his mouth. Sora pouted.

"What, is it that funny? Roxas, you're being mean."

"It's just that, you! Scary? Dude, who are you trying to be here?" Roxas guffawed, wiping a stray tear from his eye with a finger. He looked at Riku and Selphie, who weren't really as amused as him, but still was amused. "What, am I the only one who thinks this is hilarious?"

"You're not the only one."

"Of course, you aren't, Namine, of course you aren't," Sora said suggestively, earning a shove by Namine. He naturally swung his arm around Namine's shoulders and poked her cheek with his other hand. "C'mon, c'mon, don't you think I'm scary, best friend?"

"There can only be one best friend in this playing field," Riku butted in defensively, glaring daggers at Namine. Namine glared back at him.

"If Sora calls me his best friend, then I'm his best friend."

"No, I am."

"No, I—"

"You're both my best friends," Sora interrupted cheekily. "You too, Roxas. Well, maybe we're not that close as how I'm close with Nam' and Rik' but you're still—" he stopped when Roxas waved a hand to brush the issue off.

"I get it."

"What about me?" Selphie whined, not liking how she wasn't included in the whole ordeal. Sora let Namine go and shook his head.

"Selphie, you're the best out of all of them."

"Yippee!" As everyone else forgot about Sora's question, he couldn't stop thinking about ways to get the mysterious redhead to talk to him normally. _I wonder when she'll open up…_

Sora couldn't wait any longer when he accidentally saw a big, black bruise on her arm peeking beneath her sweater the next day.

"Riku, go on ahead," Sora said all of a sudden while they were walking towards their first morning class. Riku felt a shiver run down his spine as his eyes whipped over to look at his best friend. Rarely did Sora ever sounded so serious and dark when speaking.

"Sora, what's wrong?" Riku chuckled nervously. He tried to blame it on his ears, but he couldn't. Following his line of sight, Riku instantly shook his head when he saw who Sora looked at and pulled him back by the shoulder. "Sora, don't stare at her. You'll… you'll—" Riku didn't even know what to say—all he knew was that the redhead was bad news. Sora didn't follow his train of thought as he gently shrugged his friend off.

"I'll what, Riku?" Sora didn't wait to hear his friend's response before he headed towards the redhead's way.

He was tired of being a bystander.

"Sora, stop!" Riku pulled Sora by the arm to pull him back from doing anything he shouldn't do. Sora turned back to look at Riku, scaring him with the way his eyes flashed. That momentarily got the silver-haired boy to let him go, but by that time, he was too late.

Kairi had already gone off towards class.

~.~.~

Kairi fumbled with her hand as she tried to cover up her bruise with a layer of foundation in the girl's bathroom. It proved to be difficult since she was not at all left-handed. Remembering how she even got this bruise in the first place, she sighed and felt dejected.

Her father never dared to hurt her, no matter how threatening he looked. For the first time ever, he smacked her arm by the end of a broomstick. By the look of his face at the instant he did it, he had regretted it, but Kairi's pain didn't allow her to do anything else than to run to her room.

 _He's getting worse_ , she thought as she continued to do her messy work. She had forgotten to cover it up at school, so Kairi had to sneak in the girl's bathroom to fix it up. _Hopefully no one saw._ She looked down at herself and nodded to herself. _Of course, no one wouldn't, I'm wearing a sweater that's so thick, my armpits don't feel comfortable._

After she finished patching stuff up, she exited out the stall and looked at herself in the mirror. A tight ponytail, fake glasses, and pale skin—she sure didn't look like any of the girls her age. Her memories went back to the distant times, where she remembered how people had always gushed how cute she was when she was young. She felt the side of her face with a hand, marveling at what image beheld her now.

 _You should let your hair down more. You look nice._

"Sora," she tested the name with her mouth. It felt strange, saying his name. She only figured out only because of how popular he was. After the beach, she was slightly curious to know who he was, but it didn't take long for her to learn his name. She could hear the girls gossiping about him before class started and hear his familiar voice echoing from the hall as he laughed with his friends.

 _He's really nice…_ Even nice to someone like her. Maybe… just maybe… he could—

She shook her head from such thoughts and steeled herself. _They may look nice on the outside, but he could be a devil in the inside for all I know._ That was how all popular kids were, weren't they?

A bad memory surfaced on her mind. She remembered how there was a popular silver-haired boy in their high school who was also always nice to everyone. No matter who it was, he smiled that outrageously attractive smile of his, but the moment his eyes first saw her—someone he didn't even know—his expression just morphed into pure disgust.

 _Popular kids are scary._

But then _his_ words echoed over and over again in her mind.

 _You should let your hair down more. You look nice._

She didn't even know where she got the courage from, but Kairi slowly took off the hair tie holding her ponytail and let it slip off gently. Immediately, tumbles of her soft and shiny red hair cascaded down her shoulders. She smoothed them out by running her fingers through them, watching as the image in front of her changed. Taking off her fake glasses, she breathed and stared at her reflection.

Purple-tinted blue eyes just like her mother's.

"What was he saying… I look weird," she muttered to herself as she embarrassingly shoved her glasses back onto her face and tied her hair back up. "Just plain silly." Shouldering her backpack and grabbing her textbooks, she pushed the bathroom door opened and rushed towards her class.

~.~.~

"What's on your mind, Sora? It's not like you to just space off like that." Sora snapped his eyes up to lock eyes with his female best friend, Namine. Her blonde hair glittered underneath the sun streaming through the library's window, blinding him a little bit actually. "Want to talk about it?"

"Who ever said I had a lot on my mind?" Sora said playfully. Namine shot a quizzical eyebrow up and looked around her.

"It's lunch time, and you're in the darn library."

"Can't a guy read books in his free time?"

"Not you, you dweeb." Having been friends since the time Sora destroyed Namine's sand castle in second grade, the two of them just knew almost everything about each other. Sora would never say it out loud, but sometimes, Namine was just more reliable than Riku. "Now fess up—what's been making you so troubled?"

"It's not really anything big. Just dealing with the whole dilemma with morals and whatnot." Namine took a chair from across from him and sat down. She glanced at the book that was currently in his possession, flipped it so that she could see the title, and cringed.

"Really? 'Sense and Sensibility'? What in the world?"

"I've been on a Jane Austen spree." That sounded more than a question than a statement. Namine rolled her eyes and chucked the book to the side. "What, boys can be entertained by romance too, you know."

" _Pfft_ , you mean video games?"

"That's Roxas you're talking about, lover boy—girl, I mean. Wow, I never used that term with a girl before." Namine raised a fist to mock threaten him.

"I don't like Roxas."

"Oh yeah, definitely." He stretched out the last word to annoy her. "You better clear up some misunderstandings if you want to get at him though. Just a heads up." Namine frowned.

"What misunderstandings?"

"People think you and I are dating," he deadpanned, point and blank. "Like. A lot of people." It took a while for Namine to process that before laughing like a wild boar.

"Who would date you!"

"Exactly! Wait, what? No, that's not what I meant." Realizing how he just bashed himself unintentionally, Sora decided to just shut up. Namine shook her head, realized what Sora was doing, and knocked on the table to bring the subject back to where it was before.

"Stop trying to change the subject and tell me what's up with you, boy." Sora glumly spun the book in circles. He decided to just spill everything to Namine.

"I've been trying to talk to this girl. It's kind of hard."

"Crush?"

"No, of course not!" The librarian shushed Sora, who gave an apologetic smile in return. In a lower voice, he continued. "It's far from a crush. No, I don't have a crush on anyone right now. This girl is just…"  
"Just…?"

"I feel like she needs help," he decided to blurt out. "And I don't know what to do. Half of me wants to mind my own business, but the other half just can't stand there watching the stuff happen." Sora didn't want to disclose Kairi's identity just in case Namine decided to insult her like everyone else, but Namine was a smart girl. She probably already knew who he was talking about but remained clueless.

"Hm, Sora Hikari always knew what to do, even without thinking. What's with the sudden change in strategy?" Namine teased. " _The_ Sora Hikari doesn't mood like this—he just goes for it. Even if in the stupidest way possible." Sora decided to just ignore that insult.

"It's just… _hard_."

"Because you don't want to be bashed upon by society?" _Ouch._ Before Namine could even say anymore, the bell signaled the end of lunch. Namine stood up and pushed her chair in, with Sora doing the same. Before he could say anything in return, Namine left him with one last piece of advice. "You know, Sora, at some point, you just have to do what you personally think is right even if other people think it's wrong. You just have to decide for yourself what is right or wrong or else you'll never move on from the same place." Sora smiled weakly—Namine just always knew what to say.

"You're the best, Nam."

"Don't hug me—this is why people think we're dating. Off, off!"

~.~.~

It was the same old, same old. Kairi would walk to the bus stop, take the bus to school, attend class, and go back home by the bus. Nothing really changed in her schedule. She was not in any clubs, she didn't go anywhere afterschool, and she definitely didn't have friends she could hang out with. The same old, same old routine, one she followed strictly.

Sometimes, it was just plain boring.

Kairi chuckled at these thoughts of hers. People would probably be surprised that she, a weird freak, had normal thoughts and feelings just like everyone else did too. Kairi thought her schedule was boring! Yes, she had the ability to feel bored as well.

She absentmindedly walked the familiar path to her stop, nothing much in her mind. Of course, there was always the fear to what awaited her at home, but she found herself getting number and number as the days passed.

 _The trees look pretty, even though there are no leaves,_ Kairi thought to herself as she glanced up at the intricate branches. It was as if they weaved together to create a picture.

Every time she went on a bus or saw a bus, Kairi felt saddened. If only that day didn't happen. Kairi closed her eyes.

 _Vrooooom… shhhh._

Kairi opened her eyes again, waited in line to get into the bus, and stepped a foot into the bus.

"Wait, Kairi!" Instinctively, she took her foot off the bus and backed away. Not knowing what was going on with her, the bus driver simply shut the doors of the bus on her and went on his way. When she realized what had just happened, she shot her head towards the bus and took a step forward in an attempt to run and catch up, but it was futile.

A bit irritated at whoever made her miss her bus, Kairi adorned a frown on her face as she turned to see who it was. She blinked, making sure hallucinations weren't playing awful tricks on her.

Sora's hair couldn't even be wilder as he stopped at a good distance away from her, hands on his knees as he tried to catch his breath. "Gosh," _huff_ , "I'm glad," _huff_ , "you stopped. Man, was the bus stop always this far? Geez." Kairi warily watched the way he moved as he stood straighter to face her. She tried not to lose face at how his scarf was terribly uneven with one end nearly touching the ground.

"I have to go home," Kairi awkwardly said, not wanting to talk to him at all. What in the world would he need from her? All she saw was the words "BAD NEWS" flashing in red neon lights above the boy's head.

"You missed the bus anyway, so hear me out." _I missed my bus because of you._

"Sorry, I don't—"

"Let me help you," he breathed, running a hand through his hair. Kairi took a step back when he took a step forward. "I probably am not the best candidate—heck I definitely am not—but I'll try to be there. Well, I'll be-there-be-there, but I'll respect whatever distance you want between us. Okay, I know I look like a freak right now just coming up to you so randomly with no reason whatsoever. Somewhere in TV shows, you get to know each other through a random class project or something, but I have no classes with you so—what the fuck am I even saying?" Sora groaned—the look on Kairi's face was not what he was aiming for. She definitely thought he was some sort of freak from another world as he breathlessly tried to explain what his intentions were. He swore it all sounded great in his head earlier. "My point is! You don't have to deal with it alone, okay? Let me be there for you—it's painful just watching you every day."

Sora felt dejected as he looked at the void look on her face. She probably even felt offended at all the crap he just spewed at her and already had an apologetic speech ready in mind. His mouth opened to continue his rant until he heard a weird sound.

" _Pff_ —" Sora blinked. Kairi still looked at him with the same cold expression on her face. He continued to look at her until she couldn't hold it in anymore. Her mouth started to twitch upward before she burst into giggles.

"You're strange!" she laughed softly, covering her mouth in an attempt to hide away from him, but it proved useless—that whole weird display had her crackling. "You came all the way to say all that?"

"Haha…" Sora laughed along awkwardly, not really getting what was funny. Though he was glad that she didn't look too upset as she continued to laugh at him for a moment before stopping. Instead of a void look, the tiniest of smiles played at the corner of her lips. Sora never knew that she could hold such an expression.

"Do you mind saying all that again in a shorter way?" Sora swallowed.

"Friends. We can be friends." Kairi didn't know what came over her, but her mouth had already said a response before she could even logically think about it.

"Okay."


	4. Chapter 4

Kairi buried her face into her pillows, trying her best not to make weird sounds into them. Her thoughts kept replaying what happened after school, and it wouldn't stop to take a break.

 _Friends. We can be friends._

Before she even knew it, an "okay" escaped her mouth as if it was nothing. She didn't even take a step back and rethink about her decision; she just went with it!

"Ugh, stupid, stupid," she scolded herself as she turned back forward and hugged her blankets. "What if he's a bad guy?" She then covered her face with the blankets this time. Letting out a strangled sound that could've been a shriek or squeal, Kairi shot up from her bed and swung her legs over the bed this time. She just couldn't sit still as she kept thinking about the mysterious boy.

"I'm going to go crazy."

She then started to think about how heavily he breathed, and how genuine he sounded when he spoke to her. If her eyes weren't playing bad tricks on her, he might've even been telling the truth.

Kairi couldn't take it anymore and got up from her bed, sat at her desk, and took out a book to read to get her mind off of the issue. There was no point in just sitting there and thinking about it that much. After all, even if he said all that, actions speak louder than words. She shouldn't have anything to worry about—he wasn't serious.

Mind finally at rest because of that conclusion, Kairi hummed to a song she heard in the grocery store and peacefully read her book.

The next day, she decided to wake up early in the morning to cook breakfast for her father. Knowing how he always liked two sunny-side up eggs with two strips of bacon and a slice of toast, she easily prepared it and set it on the table for him. When she heard footsteps from the hallway, she quickly took her backpack and rushed out the door so that she wouldn't have to face him. Once she was a good distance away from her house, she sighed and tightened the straps of her backpack.

 _This is the most I can do for you,_ she thought sadly as she made her way to the bus stop.

When she arrived at school a little bit late, it was just the same old, same old: shrink up, hold books, and just go. _Don't look anywhere, just_ _ **go**_ _._ Going to class became easier and easier every day the more people knew about her. The more they knew, the more they would stay away.

However, for Sora, the more he knew, the more he got closer.

Kairi had finished swapping her textbooks for her first class when Sora suddenly appeared in front of her once she shut her locker closed. His sudden appearance shocked her so much that she couldn't even let out a sound—she simply took a sharp intake of breath.

"Hi," he said softly, leaning his side on the lockers. She could tell that it was awkward for him too to just suddenly pop out of nowhere. "It's a nice morning, isn't it?" Sora noticed how she gauged the distance between them with her careful eyes, decided that it was a good distance, and tightened the hold on her books. Sora wished she had another alternative to calming herself rather then just crushing her books.

"Hi," she breathed shakily, her eyes locking onto him like prey on predator. Sora tried not to frown when he looked at her eyes through the lenses of her glasses. _Are those fake glasses?_ And the way her turtle neck was stretched to the maximum to cover her entire neck—it concerned Sora slightly. It didn't seem like she cared about what she looked like.

"Did you get home safely after school?" Sora asked. He wasn't sure on what else to say. It took him a lot to just go up to her—he liked to avoid awkward situations the most he could. A revelation came to him that with Kairi, there were going to be a lot of awkward moments he had to hurdle through.

"Sora? What the—" Sora whipped his head around to face Riku, who were staring at the two with a bizarre look on his face. Kairi gulped when his icy blue eyes locked with hers. Instantly, his surprised expression morphed into scorn as he realized what was going on.

"Riku, you sure came to school early, huh?" Sora said nervously. Not wanting Kairi to suddenly leave, he was about to tell her to wait a minute, but before he could, she was already gone. He bit the inside of his cheek— _seriously?_

"Sora, what do you think you're doing?" Riku hissed as he took a step towards his best friend. "I thought I told you not to talk to her?"

It took a lot to irritate Sora, even by a little, and Riku was scratching the surface.

"Riku," he said with a light yet incredulous laugh, "What's up with you?"

"I should be asking what's up with _you._ I thought I told you—"

"I was just _talking_ to someone, dude? What's with the tension here?" Sora clapped Riku on the shoulder happily as he forced a smile. "The frown on your face doesn't fit your handsome face. Turn it upside down!"

Unable to maintain his frustration with Sora any longer with his cheeriness, Riku simply sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"I get you're trying to be nice, Sora, but you shouldn't talk to her, okay? She's… _weird._ "

Not wanting to get into a fight with Riku, Sora merely kept his silence and changed the subject by talking about homework instead. At the same time, he thought about how he could approach Kairi better without her thinking he was going to attack her or something.

After the morning though, Sora felt too dejected to try again. He decided to just give it a rest and sit with his friends for lunch after realizing that it would take a long time for her to warm up to him. It didn't matter though; he'll do what it takes to eventually open her up. Seeing her every day like that just… wasn't good for his moral compass. Sora glanced at Riku.

He had to stay out of Riku's sight. The last thing he wanted was a fight with his friend, although he wasn't quite sure why Riku was so sensitive about it.

"How's blitzball going, Sora?" Roxas asked, effectively snapping Sora out of his daze.

"What? Oh, uh, it's okay," Sora automatically answered. He could see Namine from the corner of her eye just giving him her signature questioning brow. "Same old stuff."

"As captain, you don't sound too excited about what you do, do you?" Roxas joked, swirling his cup of iced water with a straw. "Where's the spirit?"

"It's just tiring. It's… exhausting." _In its own way._ Roxas however didn't get what Sora truly meant and nodded his head as if understanding.

"Fair enough. Tough sport—you always have to keep moving in the water. Don't think I would be able to do it."

"I don't think I'll be able to run so fast the way you do," Sora responded back, knowing fully well what Roxas had to do during track was just as tiring. Roxas simply shrugged and smiled.

"The water just isn't my thing."

"Roxas!"

Everyone's eyes whipped around towards the voice of the raven-haired girl, who beamed at them with a brilliant smile. At the sight of her, Sora pinched Namine's thigh from underneath and tried not to burst out laughing when Namine kicked him back.

"Hey, Xion," Roxas greeted as Xion made her way towards their table. Everyone else said their hello's to the cheerful girl, which she all returned cordially with a happy wave. "What's up?" At the sound of his question, Roxas suddenly found himself in a headlock as Xion ruffled his hair violently.

"What do you mean 'what's up'? Dude, you're supposed to go to history class during lunch and pick the topic of your project, idiot!" Xion exclaimed. It took Roxas three seconds to realize what she was even talking about before he started to panic.

"Oh shit, you're right."

"Don't blame me if you get some weird topic like 'the ancient civilization of the moogles' or something!" Xion let him go, hands on hips, as she watched him hurriedly swing his backpack over his shoulder and grabbed the remains of his lunch.

"Sorry, guys, I gotta blast because I—"

"No need to explain, we just heard it all," Riku said with a laugh as he waved his hand. "Go put your useless long legs into use."

"Bye guys!" And before they knew it, Roxas was already out through the cafeteria door. Xion just sighed as she put a hand on her forehead.

"Sorry to bother you guys. Roxas can get _pretty_ forgetful sometimes."

"Glad he has someone like you to remind him of his shit," Selphie said with a roll of her eyes. "Roxas seems so relaxed and cool, but even he can slip up, huh?"

"We're all human, aren't we? Mistakes happen," Sora stated with a light tone. He made sure he didn't sound too biting. Selphie simply shrugged at his answer and sipped her apple juice.

"Well, I'll see you guys later!" Xion said, and the raven-haired girl returned back to her own table where Roxas's other friends hung out. They called themselves "Organization XIII" because it sounded cool, but Riku always liked to call them "Organization Rainbow" for a very good reason.

"By the way, did you see Olette this morning?" Selphie said all of a sudden, and Sora already knew what was going to begin.

"I did, I did, holy shit. If you're going to come to school looking like some sort of sunflower, just don't," Riku responded with an obnoxious laugh. "Yellow and orange must be her favorite color, 'cause _wow._ "

Sora really liked his friends—he really did—and he cared about them more than anything, but sometimes, they got a little bit too much for him. Selphie herself was a gossip girl, but what made Sora barely able to tolerate her was that she only judged about fashion and what clothes people wore. Riku on the other hand…

 _He has changed._

Sora didn't know when and how, but Riku just _changed._ He never used to be like this in middle school.

"Sora, want to go with me to go get my textbook?" Namine's calm voice interrupted. "Lunch is almost over."

"Yeah, sure," Sora said gratefully as he stood up. Riku and Selphie gave them their goodbyes without noticing anything. Sora and Namine dumped their trays into the trash and proceeded into the nearly empty hallways, where Sora let out a heavy breath. He sat down on one of the indoor benches with Namine joining him too.

"You feeling okay, Blitzboy?" Namine asked worriedly as she patted him on the back. He simply nodded as he straightened his back. "Don't let what they say get to you too much. They're just going through a phase. A very common high school phase."

"I know, I know," Sora sighed. "I'm just feeling more tired than usual. Maybe blitzball is just taking a toll on me."

"Sora, I've told you this many times, and I'm not afraid to tell you again: if you don't want to do blitzball anymore, then just quit."

"It's not that easy," Sora argued. He let out a groan before leaning his head onto Namine's shoulder. She had to flinch away for a moment when one of his spikes irritated her face. "It just isn't. They need me, they—"

"I already know your reason. You don't have to tell me again. All I want you to do is give yourself a break when you really need it. I hate seeing you so exhausted, silly."

Sora lifted his head off her shoulder and looked at her, eyes twinkling in appreciation.

"Thanks, Namine, you're the best."

"Whatever."

"By the way, if you don't want Roxas to get stolen away, you gotta act fast, girl. Time waits for no one."

"Oh my gosh, just stop it."

To irritate her more, Sora shoved his spikes up to her face, earning a half-yell, half laugh from her. "Sora!"

From the corner, Roxas smiled at the two before finding another route to his class.

~.~.~

Kairi tried not to look all jumpy as she flipped through the pages of her book. Unbeknownst to the person who sat in front of her in the library, she was just mindlessly flipping pages just to flip pages. She would call herself amazing if she could still read in this type of situation.

"What book are you reading?" the brunet asked, hand resting on a fist as he looked at her curiously. Kairi gave him a wary look up.

Wanting to read her book during lunch, Kairi found solace in an empty area in the library where there were barely any people. She thought she could read in peace but was proved wrong when the familiar spiky-haired boy suddenly appeared from behind one of the bookcases. Their eyes had locked in recognition, and before she even knew it, he had sat down in the chair in front of her with a smile stretched on his face. Inside, she wondered why he would be in the library—he didn't look like the type.

Under normal circumstances, she would've just stood up and just left, no matter how rude she would've looked, but things were different now between her and this mysterious boy. What was different, she wasn't quite sure.

 _Are we actually playing the friends game?_

Looking at the book's cover, she realized that the title wasn't on it.

" _Sense and Sensibility_ ," she replied slowly. She didn't expect a laugh to escape his lips all of a sudden.

"What a coincidence—I read that last week."

Kairi blinked. _He's lying._ "I'm not lying." She drew her book closer to her as a form of caution as she dubiously eyed him. Sora's smile never faltered as he pointed to the book in her hand. "I guess you wouldn't believe me if I said I was a secret Jane Austen fan."

"Really?" The question escaped her mouth without a thought. Encouraged, Sora leaned in closer, but not too close to scare her.

"Don't tell anyone, but I'm a secret and closeted romantic. Get me a guy like Mr. Darcy." Sora then frowned. "Wait, just kidding, that's from _Pride and Prejudice._ " Sora looked at her expectantly, hoping for a positive reaction from the shy redhead—kill him for thinking his slip-up was funny—but was disappointed to see her usual cold front on. And then it slightly broke.

" _Pf—_ " Kairi dropped one end of her book so that she could cover her mouth with a hand. When she let her hand fall, Sora could see how she struggled to keep her mouth from twitching.

"You know, it's okay to laugh. Nothing's wrong with laughing," Sora encouraged, giving her a supportive look.

And then she did, but not without hiding her face behind her book.

"You really did read them… that's strange," Kairi remarked softly after she finished giggling behind her book. She felt weird having a _normal_ conversation with someone—so weird that she actually didn't know what to say. Was it mean to call him strange?

"Strange? Why? Because I'm a boy? _Psh_ , boys can appreciate these things too. I bet a lot do—they just don't want to admit it," Sora grinned. Kairi had better control of her emotions this time as she kept her face expressionless. Sora didn't like this. "But do you know what really is strange?"

Kairi looked up curiously when he didn't finish his phrase. Her breath hitched in her throat when he simply observed her with his blue eyes. "Never mind."

Kairi didn't know why, but he wouldn't stop looking at her. She couldn't look away either; it felt weird to look away just to look back to see him still staring. When four seconds passed, Kairi figured out that it wasn't her he was looking at—it was her eyes or her glasses.

He then asked her a question that caught her completely off-guard.

"Do you like wearing fake glasses?"

Not wanting to answer, Kairi looked back to her book and flipped the next page. She didn't even know what page she was on anymore—too much flipping had occurred. Even when she looked away, she could still feel his stare on her. It made her more conscious. She concluded that the boy must've been very observant to even notice her fake lenses.

 _Probably thinks I'm a freak now too._

Sora just couldn't put together the two pictures of the Kairi he saw now and the Kairi he saw at the beach. It was as if they were two different people in the same body but not really. He found it so strange what a ponytail, glasses, and sweater could do to your appearance.

He leaned his face on both fists now.

"Kairi." The way he said her name made her feel even weirder. No one really called her by her name here. "It's a pretty name."

Kairi blinked at her book.

"Thank you." Her eyes still bore into her book as if trying to pretend he wasn't there at all. Sora was amazed, and not in a good way.

 _How much distrust in people does she even harbor?_

Seeing how the redhead really just wanted to read her book, Sora stayed quiet for the remainder of lunch before the bell rang. Automatically, Kairi closed her book, shoved it back into her backpack, and pushed the chair in gently as she stood up. Sora did the same. Kairi only gave him a small glance before she turned around to head to her next class; she didn't bother to greet him farewell. Dejected once more, Sora sighed as he leaned a hand on the table. Sora had been hopeful when he received an "okay" from her the other day, but he now realized that things just weren't going to be as simple as he thought it would be.

"Wait, Kairi." Sora hurriedly took out a pen and a sticky note while Kairi half-turned to see what he inquired. Messily scribbling on it, he handed it out to Kairi. She definitely noticed how he held the piece of paper at the very end with his fingers as he looked at her with urging eyes. Kairi slowly and cautiously reached out and took the paper out of his hands before scrutinizing it.

 _His number._

"Kairi, we're friends now, okay?" he attempted. "Friends talk to each other."

Kairi didn't say anything. Not once did she falter in her footsteps as she disappeared from the library.

~.~.~

"Ancient civilization of the moogles…" Kairi muttered to herself as she looked at her history prompt and ran a hand through her hair. She huffed a breath as she put it on her table and went to lie down on her bed. She had hoped for a better topic despite being last, but she really did get the short end of the stick this time.

 _Roxas._

She stared at the name of her supposed partner—sucks for him to get this topic too—and placed a hand on her forehead. Sooner or later, she had to get together and work with this partner of hers. She wouldn't mind it if she did the whole thing by herself though—she didn't want to meet up with anyone.

Her eyes traveled to the crumpled sticky note next to her papers. It was its turn to get picked up and analyzed by the redhead.

 _Friends talk to each other._

Kairi really didn't expect the spiky-haired boy to actually pursue this strange idea of a friendship with her. Not only did he approach her once within the three days since his odd request, but _twice._

This Sora guy was actually serious.

Bunching her hair into two with her hands, Kairi crossed her hands to cover her face with her hair and let out another strangled squeal that was similar to the one earlier in the week. He was a Jane Austen fan too, Jane Austen! A boy! Kairi never felt the urge to just laugh like that in a very long time, and he was able to induce it out of her with just a few lines.

 _He's really nice…_

She let go of her hair and looked at the number again before slapping both her cheeks.

It wasn't good to get close. It wasn't. She her thoughts turned towards the cold eyes that regarded her that one day and shivered—she never felt so much _hatred_ from a person before.

 _Riku._

Getting involved with Sora would make those kinds of situations happen again. Not wanting to think about it, Kairi decided to busy herself. She took the list of groceries she pinned on the wall and grabbed her bag. The fridge didn't look too good; it was that time of a week again.

Kairi put on her fake glasses and frowned before taking them off—she needed to get new glasses too. The lenses were all scratched up, making it really annoying to look through. Throwing them aside and scribbling "glasses" on her grocery list, Kairi pulled a simple beige sweater—one without a turtleneck this time—over her head and headed out the door.

When she approached the living room, Kairi quietly took steps to see if her father was there, and he was. She bit her bottom lip harshly when she saw him going through the photo album and closed her eyes momentarily.

"I'm going to go buy things for dinner now," she announced, gaining his attention. His head turned to look at her, lips pulled up with the slightest of smiles. He looked better today, with hair kept and clothes not wrinkled.

"Have a safe trip."

"I will."

Kairi's trip was safe but arriving back home wasn't as pleasant.

"You're home? I don't want to see you! Out, out!" was what greeted her as the plastic bags in her hand slipped past her fingers and hit the ground. Always caught off guard whenever this happened, Kairi fumbled with her shoes and quickly ran up the stairs to escape her father's unpredictable wrath once more.

Shutting the door closed, Kairi breathed slowly and evenly as she ran a hand through her hair. Her eyes moved to observe her dimly-lit room before her knees gave in, and she fell on the floor. Cradling herself in fetal position, she wondered why things just had to be this way. She could feel the tears prickle her eyes as her mind went back to the happier times where none of these awful feelings existed.

"Dad, why do you have to be like this?" Kairi murmured to herself as she collected herself together and stood back up. For so many years, she tried her best, but it seemed like it was all for naught. Kairi wasn't used to this—not at all—but she was used to it enough to not be too affected anymore.

Or so she thought.

" _Hic_ …" Kairi went over to her desk and grabbed the framed photo off from its stand. It was a picture of her family at the beach, smiling as the sun rays shined on them. "Why?" She placed it back on her desk with a harsh slam and collapsed onto her chair, elbows propped up at she buried her face in her hands.

 _Someone just end this._

Loneliness filled the void in her as she struggled to remain calm. It filled like a cup of water, slow and steady until it reached the brim. Keeping all of it with no one to talk to about this was detrimental to her sanity, and as she felt herself almost tip over the edge, her eyes landed on the sticky note with the number on it. The lamp seemed to have known what she was feeling, for most of its light was centered on that sticky note.

 _Sora._

 _We're friends now, okay? Friends talk to each other._

~.~.~

Sora popped a potato chip in his mouth as he watched his friends duel it out on a match of Super Smash on the sofa. He was bad at the game, so he had already died in the first five minutes. Currently at Riku's house, the dudes decided to get together and have a long-awaited sleepover for the weekend. Namine was there next to him too, but she, of course, wasn't staying for the sleepover.

"Roxas, can you stop playing Pikachu? You are so annoying!" Riku roared as he dodged all of Roxas's relentless spam. Roxas cackled evilly as he failed to stop.

"If I stop right now, you're going to whip my butt."

"Which is the point!"

"Boys," Namine said to Sora with a roll of her eyes. Roxas heard her over his intense button-mashing.

"Why don't you come join us, Nams. Then you'll understand the addiction," Roxas said, turning around to look her in the eye when he killed Riku. He had to turn back around though when he revived. At this, Sora wrapped an arm around Namine's shoulders to pull her closer and smirked.

"Oh, you would love that, wouldn't you, _Nams_?" he whispered, earning himself a harsh shove to the side.

"Oh, shut it, you," Namine hissed. This only made Sora grin. He gave Namine the controller, which she refused to take.

"C'mon, this is a perfect opportunity to, you know," Sora wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, "Impress a certain someone."

"I don't play games," she replied coolly. However, she gave in when Roxas urged her as well.

"It'll be fun, Nams. Trust."

"…Okay." And she snatched the controller out of Sora's hands.

"Wow, you listen to Roxas but not me? I'm hurt," Sora whispered with a hand over his heart. Namine didn't even respond as she selected her character. Sora opted out on this round and decided to just watched; he knew he would just bully Namine if he played now.

 _Vrrrr! Vrrrr!_

Sora did funny movements as he tried to get his phone out from his pocket without actually standing up from the sofa. Wiggling his fingers through his tight jean pockets, Sora checked the caller ID, only to frown. It was a number he never saw before. _Probably one of those stupid advertisements again._ Though he always picked up, afraid that it might've been a real call.

"Hello?" he said into the phone.

"Who's calling at this time? Is it Selphie?" Namine asked as she frustratingly pressed the buttons. Sora tried not to laugh as he covered the speaker of his phone.

"That's what I'm about to find out," and he pressed the phone back to his ear. "Uh, hello?" he repeated when he heard nothing. He only heard mere shuffles and the slight static of the call.

"Avoid voice phishing, my friend!" Riku advised Sora. "God, Namine, why are you so good? Isn't it only your first time?"

Still hearing nothing, Sora was about to just end the call when he finally heard it.

" _Sniff_ … _hic._ "

He definitely knew who it was now, and his heart hammered super hard for a second as he straightened up in the sofa.

"Hi…" her weak voice sounded over the phone.

"Hi," he gently said back, voice softening tremendously. Namine noticed the change in his tone and looked over at him with a quizzical gaze. He simply smiled at her as he stood up from sofa and went towards the kitchen.

"Where you going, Sora?" Roxas asked when Namine killed his last life.

"I'll be back soon. You guys are being too noisy," Sora said in a teasing tone before he disappeared off into the kitchen.


	5. Chapter 5

The moment Kairi had dialed his phone number and pressed the call button, she had instantly begun to regret it. By the third ring, she was about to just end it and shove her face into her pillow in embarrassment. However, he had answered the phone in that instant. His confused "hello" was clearly heard, along with what sounded like his friends. Frozen, she didn't say anything back. She wanted him to just end the call, dismiss her as a random one, and forget about it.

But half of her really wanted him to persist—and he did.

"Hi," he replied, his voice slightly deeper over phone. Kairi felt her heart beat like crazy because of all the nervousness. This nervousness she felt completely washed away the feelings she had before she called—the feelings she wanted to get rid of through the call in the first place. Just like that, they went away the moment he picked up.

Not knowing what to say, she remained silent. A small part of her worried that he would just get fed up and end the call, but he didn't. He remained silent with her, and she knew that he was just patiently waiting for her to say something.

 _He really is nice._

"Go ahead!" she suddenly heard his muffled voice shout.

"Sorry, are you busy?" she finally questioned. She didn't even realize how late she had called him and instantly felt guilty.

"No, I'm not," he assured her. Kairi knew he was lying when she heard the noise in the background, but she didn't question further.

They fell under silence again. Again, Sora didn't peg her for anything. Kairi really appreciated it; she doubted she could even voice out her thoughts in coherent sentences. She had no purpose in calling him. No words were planned out when she dialed his number, looked at it hesitantly, and pressed the call button. Nothing but nervousness swirled in her when the call rang thrice.

"Sora Hikari…" Kairi didn't realize how she said his full name out loud. Quickly feeling the embarrassment, she hoped that he didn't hear it since she had said that in a quiet voice, but he heard it. Surprisingly, he chuckled in what Kairi assumed was amusement.

"That's me," he said. "Kairi…" He paused.

"Lockhart," she finished for him.

"Kairi Lockhart. That sounds like a really girly name, I can't lie about that." If Kairi had taken that statement raw, she would've thought it was an insult. However, a person's tone really made the difference. She tried not to laugh. She would've been successful if Sora didn't somehow have a camera installed in her room or something. "You can laugh, you know. I know I'm hilarious."

Being on the phone was different. Very different. It was ironic how she felt more comfortable over phone—didn't people feel more awkward over the phone? She remembered that she was a special case; she did not like face-to-face interactions at all. However, over the phone, she was in her own comfortable space—her own little bubble. Over the phone, it made her feel normal. It made her speak normally. It made her act normally.

It made her normal.

"Sora, who are you talking to?" she heard a voice question him. A male one. A familiar one.

 _Riku._

"It's, uh, just Selphie," she heard Sora lie.

"Wow. Is it another one of her gossip stories?"

"Sure."

"We're going to play card games soon. Come join us."

"Yeah, I'll be right there." Kairi listened to the shuffling for three seconds before Sora returned. "Sorry about that."

"It's okay." Kairi didn't ask why he lied, but she could probably figure out why on her own. Feeling that he really had to go this time, Kairi decided to wrap things up. "I have to go now." After this call, she didn't even know if she was ever going to do it again. She had only done it by impulse. After this, she wasn't sure if she even had enough courage to talk to him again, but Sora spared her the trouble.

"I have to go too. Um," he paused in his speaking, as if deciding what to say, before he continued. "Text me."

"Huh?" she dumbly said.

"Feel free to text me—about anything. Um, I respond quick unless I'm really busy. Isn't really a good thing since I should be off my phone more, but yeah. It'll probably be, uh, easier for you too. And me. I'm terrible at calling. My jokes sound better through text too, so." That last statement sounded like a joke to Kairi, if anything.

"…Okay," Kairi shyly said. She strangely felt jumpy as she listened to his voice.

"Yeah."

"Sora! We're going to start without you!" another voice called out. This time, it was a female's.

"Coming! Bye, Kairi."

"Yeah," she half-whispered. She started to wonder why the call didn't end yet after that until he said something else.

"Feel better. Remember to just text me, okay?" And he ended it.

~.~.~

A revelation hit Sora three days after Kairi called him—three days since they exchanged short text messages with each other. He had been doing it all wrong.

Kairi did not like real-life interactions _at all_.

The naïve side of his personality thought that it was it—that their phone call was a mark of a new beginning and that things would finally flow the way he wanted it too. So, when he approached her on an early Monday—discreetly, might he add, to avoid a certain someone—he did not expect her to give him the same old cold front that she had always given him. There wasn't even a miniscule change. Not even a slight indication that whatever transpired over the weekend between them even happened.

Cold and distant. The usual.

Too taken aback to hear Kairi excuse herself to go to class, Sora was rendered speechless as he watched her form shrink and disappear from the corner. He was so shocked that he had to dig through his pockets for his phone and open the text messages to assure himself that they actually did text each other.

Their conversation wasn't much. Barely any substance was seen in their very, _very_ short conversations. Kairi didn't even initiate any of them; it was just Sora who texted her and asked her how her day was and just _the usual_ conversation starters after he finally got her number.

 _Good._

 _It's okay._

 _Nothing much._

How could anyone reply to those short responses? He couldn't even say what went on in his day—she didn't even ask him his questions back. This was a lot harder than he thought. And then he felt guilty when he thought that.

 _This isn't some sort of game._ He tugged at his signature crown necklace to somehow vent out his frustration at himself. Namine caught him at the wrong time as she appeared from another corner of the hallway and watched him curiously.

"You okay there, bud?"

"Holy gee—Namine, can you _not_ sneak up on me like that?" Sora exasperated as he let go of his necklace. Namine frowned and pointed at where she was seconds ago.

"I was literally standing here the whole entire time. I'll ask again: you okay?"

"Never been better," he lied between his teeth, a smile automatically popping up. This earned him a disapproving squeeze to the cheek.

"Don't shove that disgusting fake smile at me. Stop that habit."

"Sorry," he immediately apologized as he dropped the smile.

"Guys, it's too early. Keep it down." It was Roxas's turn to emerge with the edge of a thin textbook on his shoulder. A small smirk was on his face as he glanced between the two. "You guys keep saying you aren't secretly dating, but I'm not believing it." To Roxas, Namine's face didn't change, but Sora knew better. It was just a slight, molecular movement, but Sora could see how Namine tried not to twitch her eye at the accusation.

"Roxas, just get your eyes checked. We're far from dating. In fact, Namine has a secret cru—we're not freaking dating. I repeat, we're not dating." He tried not to hiss in pain when Namine reached behind him and pinched the meaty part of his back. Roxas, who found the whole thing simply comedic, waved the subject off with a hand and sighed as he let his textbook fall from his shoulder and back into his arm.

"Wish me luck, guys."

"For what?" Sora and Namine simultaneously asked. Roxas simply sighed and rolled his shoulder.

"Going to talk to my history partner today about our project on the ancient civilization of the moogles."

"Ancient civilization of the moogles! Oh my gosh, you actually—Xion is a fortuneteller, I swear," Sora said with a clap of his hands. "This is gold."

"Something wrong with your history partner?" Namine asked with a slight frown. Roxas only shrugged and managed a small smile.

"Nothing's wrong with her. She's just a bit hard to talk to, I think. I've never talked to her before."

"Who is it?" Sora asked. Roxas shrugged.

"Who knows."

"The heck is that supposed to mean? Hey, Roxas, you can't just walk away like that!" Sora whined as Roxas gave the two of them a wave good bye when he saw Xion and his red-haired friend Axel walk by. When he was out of earshot, Namine wasn't afraid to give Sora a flurry of weak punches on his arm.

"We're not dating, why does he think that!"

"I don't know. I'm telling you, you gotta stop being passive and go in for the kill. It's not my fault he has that assumption. It's all you, man, it's all you. I'm not the one with the crush. You gotta fix it yourself, amirite?" Sora said, feigning nonchalance. Namine pulled at her hair in frustration as she turned her head to bang her forehead on the lockers. Sora was quick to put his hand in the way as she banged her head on it instead.

"Ugh, Sora!"

~.~.~

After history class, Kairi was quick on her feet to turn in her paper and be the first to exit out for a change. The only reason she even dared to do so was to avoid her history partner. She felt bad for being so rude and avoidant, but she held a strong desire to just avoid any live interactions and remain strictly on texts to finish the project.

"Kairi, wait," her partner's voice sounded behind her as she briskly walked past the lockers. Her feet halted; she didn't expect him to react so fast to her escape. Having no choice but to face him now—she didn't want to be too rude—she turned around and faced the blonde. She expected him to trespass her invisible line and get uncomfortably close to her like everyone else who didn't care when they needed to speak with her, but he surprisingly kept the right distance as he re-adjusted his terribly crooked duffel bag strap. He also flattened out his wrinkled grey sweater and adjusted the collar of his flannel that was underneath before he spoke.

"We should meet up and work together. This project's kind of huge," he proposed. Kairi tried not to look surprised. This blonde was actually talking to her as if she was normal. She analyzed his features. The only thing he seemed annoyed with was their blasted project. "I want to finish this as soon as possible because I have a track meet coming up next week."

"I don't think you need to worry," Kairi quickly said. "I did most of the research already this weekend. I can probably finish up the poster board within the next week by myself." This stupefied Roxas before a small frown etched on his brows.

"You didn't and don't have to do that. We'll work on it together, so spare some time on your calendar."

It was Kairi's turn to frown as she regarded Roxas. Usually, people would accept her proposal—no one wanted to do work with her either. However, this guy was different; he really did want to do the project with his own hands. Unable to reject such a request, Kairi sighed and slowly nodded.

"Alright." A hint of a smile broke on Roxas's face as he nodded his head.

"Sounds great. I'll shoot you a message as to when I'm free." Roxas took a step back to signal that he was going, gave a wave good bye, and went on his way, leaving Kairi to stare at his tall and straight back. The blonde seemed to have an indifferent personality—she realized that he probably didn't care what condition she had.

He just wanted to do the project.

Kairi smiled a little bit before she went on her own path.

~.~.~

"Today, we're going to focus on posture in _everything,_ quote the coach," Sora monotonically announced as he tapped the whiteboard full of exercises. His team took a second to read what was on the board before groaning collectively.

"What differentiates us from the swim team and polo team, cap'?" one of his teammates whined. "Those are common exercises they do!" Sora smirked before shaking his head.

"We're all water sports, but do you know what's the true difference?" Sora jokingly leaned forward and put a hand next to his mouth. "We do everything they do, but better." This earned cheers of pride as Sora laughed and dived into the pool to join his team in the tedious exercises.

After practice and a shower in the lockers, Sora stuffed his towel and speedo into his duffel bag and swung it over his chest. Saying a cheerful goodbye to everyone, Sora pushed the locker doors and left. Wanting to go home immediately and take a long-awaited nap, Sora fished out his keys for his car—a beautiful hand-me-down gift from his dad—and was about to head out towards the parking lot across the gates of the swimming pool when he saw the familiar flash of red hair. There she was, walking past the grassy field where a few people were kicking a soccer ball around towards the general direction of the bus stop. Surprised at her appearance, Sora stuffed his keys back into his pants and summoned up the courage to deal with another awkward encounter. With no fear or shame, he jogged to catch up to her, although making sure his footsteps were loud enough so that she could hear them. He didn't care if she found him annoying. He at least wanted her to build up the courage to tell him off.

"Hey, Kairi," he greeted breathlessly when she turned around. Her eyes widened slightly, but she adorned a less surprised expression than before, which Sora was glad for. She was getting somewhat used to his sudden appearances.

"Hi," she politely greeted back. He saw how her eyes fleetingly darted towards his wet hair before returning back to his twinkling blue eyes. He smiled before answering her curiosity.

"I came back from blitzball practice," he explained. "Like, just now." Kairi's mouth formed an "o" shape before it closed. Other than that, she didn't say anything. "Where did you come from?" he continued.

"I was working on a project," she replied. She pointed towards the general direction of the library. "In there."

"Ah, for what?"

"History."

"I see." Sora had to repeat a mantra in his head so that he could stand there longer. _I'm doing this because I'm a good person. Who cares if it's awkward. Just stay._ Not a lot of people were around afterschool either, so it made the situation better for the both of them. There must've been something scary in his eyes or something, for Kairi moved her eyes downward to look at his chest instead of his face. Sora suddenly felt conscious about how his long-sleeved polo was buttoned all the way to the top and smoothly unbuttoned the first button.

"How was… practice?" Kairi unexpectedly asked when Sora thought she was just going to walk away again. Her question actually astounded him—this was the first time she had ever asked him a question about his being! Ever! Very encouraged at this point, Sora smiled brightly at her.

"It was really tiring, but it's fun at the same time. You should co—uh, nothing." Sora decided it was way too early to invite her to come watch him at practice. He doubted she would enjoy watching half-naked guys in speedo swimming and looking exhausted either. "It's nothing," he repeated when her intense gaze settled on him once more.

If Sora was closer to Kairi, and if Kairi didn't have her mysterious phobia of boys, Sora would've just ripped those pair of fake glasses off her face. His hand twitched to just do it, but he knew that if he did, she would never want to see his face ever again. The lenses of her fake glasses annoyingly reflected the light coming from the sun and hid a good amount of her eyes from view—it was the reason he even noticed she wore fake glasses in the first place. With no anti-glare, it was quite obvious. Unable to see the eyes he saw on the beach that one day, Sora quelled his irritation with a smile.

"You feeling okay these days?" Sora continued, low-key hinting towards the cause of why she called him in the first place the other night. He never felt so socially tired before as he continued to make an effort to communicate with the redhead.

"Yeah," she curtly answered. "Normal."

"Um, that's good." Sora ran a hand through his damp hair. _What else do I say?_ When Kairi took out her phone to check the time, that signaled Sora to just let it drop and end it for the day. He took a step back and took out his keys. "I guess I'll be going then." Kairi simply held up a small, loosely-bent hand—a farewell, Sora assumed. _Slow and steady wins the race, yes, yes. Yes, it does._

Just when he was about to just go and leave, the world seemed to have other plans for him. Before he turned around to go towards his car, the sight of a flying soccer ball whizzing right towards Kairi from behind her made a dramatic entrance to his vision. He didn't have much time to think about his course of action. Instinctively, Sora took many steps towards Kairi, stopped rather closely behind her, and intersected the soccer ball with his right foot. Putting as much force as he could behind it, he launched the soccer ball back towards the direction it came from with a kick.

"Is that you, Sora? My dude, I'm sorry!"

"You're good, Yuffie!" he shouted back weakly when he recognized who had called him. When the people resumed their soccer ball fun, Sora decided it was time to show how much pain he was in. "Holy fu—freak!" He corrected himself last second.

Sora looked down at his foot and grimaced— half of his second toenail literally _flipped._ _This is what happens when you decide to be a dumbass and kick a fucking shitty soccer ball with sandals on._

"This is why I'm a swimmer, this is why I'm a swimmer, this is why I'm a damn _fucking_ swimmer," he cursed to himself, not giving a shit anymore as he let go of his invisible restraint on bad words. He tried to stay away from bad words, even though he said them all the time in his mind. It was the image—he had to keep up his image.

Speaking of image, the sight of his slightly bloody and half-naked toe wasn't doing his mind any good as pain shot through whenever he even tried to move it. _How am I going to drive?_

His pain temporarily made him forget about Kairi's appearance, and his anger at the soccer ball making his toenail fly off quickly dissipated when he realized how he went off on a cursing rampage right in front of the girl. Turning around, he forgot his pain momentarily to address the girl.

"Oh crap, Kairi, I'm sorr— _I'm sorry._ "

When he turned around to finally face her, he didn't expect to see her face so _clearly_ as she stood in front of him by less than half a meter. At the perfect angle, he could finally see the color of her widened eyes behind the stupid plastic: blue eyes with sparkling tints of violet. He immediately backed away to give her some space, but a heavy reminder of his injured toe brought his attention back to it as he bent down and hissed in pain.

"A-are you okay?" Kairi said as she snapped out of her panicked trance. She immediately joined him on the ground as she examined his toe with her worried eyes. He hovered his hand above his toe to hide the sight from her and chuckled in pain.

"I'm fine. Don't look, it looks fu—freaking nasty. Are you okay though?" He had seen how she had frozen in fear, how the fleeting moment of closeness they had could've been enough to make her feel extremely anxious. A slight guilt pricked him. Maybe he should've moved farther away from her and blocked the soccer ball with his arms or something—that would've been smarter. He wouldn't have had to suffer the loss of half of his toenail either.

"Me? I'm fine, but you aren't," she said a bit shakily. Sora's eyes softened as he observed her. She had calmed herself down for his sake the moment she saw his injury. Wanting to move his hand away from his foot, she took the textbook in her hand and steered his hand away with it. If Sora wasn't in so much pain, he would've thought that small action was strangely adorable. "At least your toenail is still in place and not bleeding that much. The nurse's office probably still is open—we just need to put some ointment on it and cover it." Kairi didn't realize how much she was talking until she looked up to see Sora just staring at her in awe. Embarrassed, Kairi slightly turned red.

"You sound experienced," Sora laughed lightly as he urged her to look him straight in the eyes. She didn't. She only continued to look everywhere but his eyes.

"In middle school, someone threw a basketball at me. I tried to bounce it back but I hit my finger against the ball instead. The ball took my whole entire fingernail off the nail bed," she briefly explained. Sora winced as he listened to her. "I had to wait for months for the nail to grow back. You, uh, at least have half."

"That truly makes me feel a lot better," he sarcastically said with a small smirk. "Got half. Great." Inside, he actually thought it was great—no, not the injury. He thought it was great that Kairi said more than three words in her sentences.

Who knew they could bond over a broken toenail?

Feeling fine enough to not go to the nurse's office and just deal with it at home, Sora told her that he would be alright, that he would just let the pain subside a bit as he wrapped it messily with his handkerchief. He also assured her that his house wasn't far and that he wouldn't have to drive for too long.

Despite his very subtle ways of saying "I'm okay, you can go now", Kairi stayed with him the whole time on a nearby bench with a distance of two feet between them. As they sat in silence, Sora felt bad for mentally comparing her to a wild squirrel. Squirrels stayed still when you stood still, but the moment you even moved the slightest muscle, they dashed and disappeared up into some tree.

Conclusion: Kairi was exactly like a wild squirrel.

"You can go. You might miss the next bus," Sora finally decided to say directly. He also felt bad for keeping her here with him too.

"It's fine," she quietly said as she tapped a finger on her textbook. "I have another ten minutes anyway."

For some reason, Sora started to feel a bit hot and cleared his throat as they continued to sit in their well-known silence. He found it cute, the way Kairi expressionlessly showed that she cared about him. If she was truly heartless, then she would've just left him the moment he trespassed into her comfort bubble.

"It doesn't hurt that bad," he tried again. This time, she did not answer him. Sora admitted defeat and simply enjoyed the scenery with her in silence. Unfortunately, his resolve did not last more than three seconds; he just couldn't sit still. "You know, Kairi, if I ever get too annoying, you have to tell me."

"Huh?"

"If I bother you too much, you can always tell me to stop. I won't take it to heart. Swear." She didn't answer to that either. That marked his second defeat, and this time, he completely remained silent this time. The same dejected feeling he always had whenever he was with Kairi was growing again, but he vanquished it when he told himself that things between him and her were definitely better. Definitely better than the way beginning.

Feeling that he could drive adequately now, he stood up and put on his duffel bag again. Seeing this, Kairi stood as well. Sora jerked a thumb towards the parking lot. "I think I'll go home now. Uh, would you like a drive home?"

"No, thank you." Sora figured as much, but he asked anyway just to ask.

"Alright. See you. Get home safely." He turned around to go. His mind instantly shifted to what he was going to have for dinner—something hot and soupy would definitely taste good—as he took a few steps forward. It was when he suddenly felt something hard press against his back that made him turn back around.

Kairi caught his attention by using the textbook to touch him. Before he could ask what was wrong, she spoke before him for the first time.

"You don't bother me," she blurted out. "I'm just shy." Sora blinked twice.

"Ah… I see."

"That's it." Kairi took the textbook back to her reach and managed a small closed-mouth smile. "I'll get going now."

"Yeah, bye." Sora watched as Kairi walked past him and out towards the street where the bus stop was. His feet took back him back to his car. Mindlessly unlocking it and stepping in, he stared at his steering wheel for a second before he leaned against it and placed a hand over his face for a moment.

"Gosh, she's cute."

* * *

Instead of studying for my classes, I'm just writing xD Fun fact: broken fingernail accident with basketball is true, but not to me. I was right next to this girl when it happened back in middle school, and poof, it flew off and-gosh I don't even want to remember it because it legit gives me the shivers HAHAHA

Anyway, yup! This is the fifth chapter! Hope you guys like this fic so far.


	6. Chapter 6

_"Go on! Get on out of here!" Five-year-old Kairi felt herself get pushed out of the car by a rough hand. Her knees scraped against the harsh cement sidewalk as she heard the rev of the engine before the car sped off, immediately disappearing from her sight._

 _"Mommy! Daddy!" Kairi wailed with her mouth wide open as she struggled to stand up. Hair messy and sight blurry with tears, she let out her screams, which echoed through the dark and unknown neighborhood. She looked for the signature tree that was in the front yard of her house. She looked for any recognizable signs of her neighborhood, only to find herself lost. "Mommy! Daddy!"_

 _Crash!_

 _"Mom!"_

 _The bus. The bike._

 _Fsssssh!_

 _"Tell Daddy I love him."_

 _Beep, beep, beep!_

Kairi gasped for air as she shot up from her bed. Once more, again and again, she clutched her head as the remnants of emotions from her nightmare slowly faded away. By now, she just didn't care anymore. If only she could just get used to these nightmares.

Shutting off the alarm on her phone, Kairi got out of bed to begin the day. While she did so, she heard her phone vibrate. Curiously, she stopped in the middle of tying her hair to reach out and check what it is.

 _Good morning! It's unpleasantly cold today :(_

Kairi's pulse quickened just by the tiniest bit when she saw the text—it was the first time Sora ever sent her a good morning text. She quickly typed her own response.

 _Good morning._

Not used to texting someone, Kairi couldn't help but keep her responses short. She wasn't sure how Sora felt about it; she hoped he wouldn't be too annoyed by them. Sometimes when she didn't know what to say, she even left him on read too. She never had enough courage to change the topic or even start another one in the first place.

Sora was different from her—very different. He was very sociable and popular. Sometimes she would catch him by the hallways only to see him always surrounded by people. No matter where he went, people would say hi to him, and he would cheerfully say hi to them back. Many times did he approach her fearlessly without a single thought as if they were best buddies. With that contagious smile of his, Sora and his sudden appearance into her life were slowly changing her mundane days at school.

At first, she did not want anything to do with him, but now, things were different. He treated her so kindly and warmly. It made her feel like a girl in high school, which was what she was supposed to feel like. However, because she wasn't used to having friends like him, her shyness overwhelmed her more than she would've liked. She wanted to speak, to voice out her opinions, to answer him whenever he spoke to her, to shed the mask she wore to protect herself, but her reserved nature prevented her from doing any of these.

The only time she really reached out to him was when he was afraid of bothering her. Not wanting him to suddenly stop talking to her for that reason, she had bravely stopped him with a touch of her textbook and told him her true thoughts. Outside, she sounded very clipped, but inside, she was rolling on the floor in embarrassment.

 _Sora's so nice…_ Kairi felt a flutter in her stomach when she thought about Sora—a feeling she never experienced before. Would it be wrong for her to be kind of excited to see him today?

 _Her first friend in high school._

 _There's only one reason why he even talks to you. He pities you_ , the dark side of her hissed. _Pity is a powerful motivator. It's only reason why he even approached you in the first place._

Kairi decided to just block that voice out for now, no matter how much truth it told.

Today, she went to school an hour and a half early and waited by a bench near one of the entrances of the school to meet Roxas in order to have a last-minute review and practice for their presentation. Within their one week of working together, she found out that Roxas was a very busy guy. They always had to squish in time during lunch since lunch time was the only time he was available. So, for a week, her history partner kept her company during lunch hour.

"Good morning." Roxas's voice snapped her out of her gaze on the floor. She looked up at the blonde. One thing she noticed about Roxas was that he dressed really nicely compared to the other guys she saw at school. He always wore a button-up shirt, whether it be underneath a sweater or a jacket. It made her wonder if he had any casual shirts.

Another thing she noticed was that Roxas seriously did have an indifferent personality. A chill personality. A calm personality. There were many words to describe him. He seemed to care about the project they were doing, but at the same time, it seemed like he also didn't care. The tone of his voice didn't change much, but it wasn't monotonic either. Refreshing even, but not really. Just in the middle—Roxas was just in the middle of everything.

"Hi," she replied back. She scooted off to one of the ends of the bench to make space for Roxas. He sat down, settled his duffel bag on the floor, and opened their tri-board for both to see. On the tri-board were just typical project things about their topic, such as pictures of the moogles, paragraphs about their background and history, etcetera.

For half an hour they practiced their parts. Soon after, they realized that both of them were already well prepared and that they didn't even need to meet up this early. The chilly weather just shook their bones as the sun barely climbed up into the dark sky filled with heavy, gray clouds.

 _Looks like it's going to rain later._ Kairi unfortunately did not bring an umbrella today.

"Six thirty in the morning is too cold. Sorry that I didn't have any other time to practice," Roxas apologized as he folded the board. Kairi shook her head.

"It's fine." She actually was—her sweaters weren't just worn for show. Kairi motioned with her hands towards the board. "I'll carry the board until history class."

"No, it's okay. I can carry it," Roxas insisted. Kairi looked at his backpack and his duffel bag. Roxas noticed her glances and shook his head. "A board doesn't weigh two tons or anything. It's cool." Kairi simply left it at that, causing them to fall into a silence. Silence was like Kairi's best friend—it was happy to accompany her wherever she went.

Kairi had expected Roxas to just dismiss himself and leave, but instead, he took out his phone and stayed with her. She looked around the landscape to notice that there wasn't a single person in sight besides them. Her optimistic thinking concluded that Roxas stayed with her to accompany her in this lonely morning out of pure politeness, but she could've been completely wrong. However, she gave him the benefit of the doubt anyway.

His presence didn't make her too uncomfortable either. He kept the right distance and remained quiet—the only two things Kairi ever asked for in a person. One week being around him proved to her that Roxas was a good guy and that she didn't have to worry about him bullying her like the others did. Indifferent, chill, calm—that was who he was.

"Sorry," she suddenly blurted out, breaking the pregnant silence between them. Roxas looked up from his phone and gave her an inquisitive yet slightly amused look.

"For what?"

"For trying to avoid you and being so cold the first time we met," she explained, feeling guilty. "I—"

"You don't need to explain yourself. It doesn't matter," he cut her off. "It's fine. I understand." He let out a breath before he continued. "People have their own stuff. I respect that." Kairi tried not to gape at him with her mouth open when she heard those words escape his lips. Never had anyone told her that they "understood" or "respected" her reasons. She could tell by Roxas's demeanor that he could care less about her reasons, but that didn't mean that he would bash on them.

 _He's mature,_ Kairi thought in amazement.

"You're a… good person," she bravely voiced out. She didn't even know how she was able to. It was probably because of the feeling Roxas gave out, the feeling that he wouldn't judge her harshly since, again, he could care less. After all, he was indifferent, chill, and calm. Roxas finally cracked into a laugh at her statement.

"Sure. I guess."

During lunch hour, Kairi realized that she forgot to tell Roxas something. She opened her backpack to look at the two hairbands with a red ball on a spring attached to it. Their presentation needed a "costume" and this was the best that she thought of. The hugest thing that distinguished a moogle was the ball on top of its head, and her teacher approved of it too. The last thing she needed to do was make Roxas aware of it, who had probably forgotten about the whole requirement.

 _I'm in the cafeteria. Do you want me to meet you somewhere else?_ He texted.

Kairi told him that she would go to him, even though she really did not want to. There were so many people crawling in every corner, but she sucked it up—she didn't want to bother Roxas anymore than she did.

If she knew what was going to happen, she would've just made him meet her somewhere else.

"I really could've went somewhere else," Roxas emphasized in real-life as he stood up and looked at the partly frozen girl while she looked at the table full of people where Roxas sat. She clearly recognized Sora and Riku the moment her eyes landed on them. She never felt so embarrassed, humiliated, afraid, and nervous at the same time. With them was a blonde girl, a brown-haired girl, and a raven-haired girl.

Sora widened his eyes at her appearance, but he didn't say anything else. He looked between Roxas and her before he looked back at his lunch and stabbed it. Riku's intense and questioning gaze focused on her.

"Roxas, what's going on?" he asked, eyes never leaving the red head.

"We have a history project together," Roxas answered simply without looking at the silver-haired as he took a few steps forward to separate himself from the table a little bit. Kairi noticed the way Roxas stood in a way where he blocked Riku's view of her, which she was very thankful for.

"H-here's the thing," she stuttered unintentionally as she took the two hairbands out of her backpack. The two balls oscillated back and forth, and she could see Roxas with a very amused expression.

"I'm going to wear this?"

"It's the only costume." He took one of the hairbands and placed it on his head. The red ball bounced rhythmically as he moved his head. Kairi tried to keep a straight face as he tested the weight on his head.

"I look ridiculous, don't—"

"To see her up close actually makes me uncomfortable."

Kairi shuddered involuntarily at that comment. Riku had said it very quietly to the table, but she could tell that he made it loud enough for her to hear. "She's so weird, don't you think?"

Sora didn't say anything as he continued eating. Namine took out her phone, signaling that she did not want to be part of this conversation at all while Xion uncomfortably continued eating as well. Selphie was the only one who engaged in the conversation as she nodded her head.

"Her clothes are so—ugh, I can't."

"Thanks. Um, just go," Roxas said the last part privately to her, also hearing everything his friends were saying quietly-but-not-quietly. Kairi nodded slowly. She didn't hesitate to just leave quickly, escaping the wrath that Riku showered her with.

When Roxas sat back down with them, Riku wasn't afraid to speak loudly anymore.

"The way she just stares at you is so creepy," Riku muttered as he rubbed his arms for the effect. "I don't know how you dealt with her, Roxas. I commend you." Roxas did not respond to him as he continued to eat his lunch.

Sora seriously had no idea why Riku became such an asshole whenever Kairi was involved. The Riku he knew wouldn't be this much of a dick like this, even though he has changed, but here he was, spouting very derogative comments about the red head who barely even spared the silver-haired a glance.

Sora closed his eyes to calm himself down before opening them again. Namine patted his back silently to remind him to not take Riku seriously. He didn't want to fight with his best friend. He didn't want to escalate the situation even further. He didn't, so he kept quiet.

When Riku's voice was loud enough to the point where everyone couldn't continue dismissing him anymore, a certain person couldn't handle it anymore. Sora had enough. His tongue moved inside his mouth as his mind kept hesitating. _Stand up for her, Sora. She is your friend now too. Riku might be your best friend, but she doesn't deserve this either. Tell him to stop, tell him to—_

"Riku, _shut up._ "

Riku instantly shut his mouth, shock invading his features while everyone else on the table all looked at the same person in surprise at his outburst—the same person they never thought would blow a fuse.

Sadly, Sora was also part of the group of spectators.

"I already told you to keep your mean comments to yourself before," Roxas hissed as he stared at the silver-haired boy with the most intimidating glare anyone has ever seen from the blonde. "We don't—at least I don't—appreciate them."

Sora's eyes couldn't get any larger as he looked at Roxas along with everyone else. The blonde actually seemed mad as he had a stare-down with Riku. Roxas never had an outburst unless he needed to. Calm and collected—that was how everyone viewed the blonde.

Suddenly, Sora felt an overwhelming sense of shame flood his entire being—what Roxas did, he couldn't. Sora sat in silence to let the emotion swallow him whole.

"O-okay," Riku stupidly let out, not expecting Roxas to suddenly blow at him. He turned back in his seat and blinked at his food before robotically eating it in complete silence. An air of awkwardness pervaded the atmosphere around them. Lunch continued to be like that for another five minutes before the bell rang.

~.~.~

" _Hey, that girl is really cute, isn't she?"_

" _Who?" Eighth grader Riku looked left and right to spot the girl his friend called "cute." His eyes then landed on a girl with unnaturally black hair. Because of the angle she looked at her desk, her hair fell like a curtain and hid her features._

" _That girl?" Riku discreetly pointed a finger at the girl, and his friend nodded enthusiastically._

" _She's super cute, but she's a little bit too quiet though."_

 _Riku immediately started to zone out his friend when the girl sat up straight and turned slightly towards his direction to look at the clock on the wall. With slender fingers, she tucked a few strands of her silky black hair behind her ear to clear them away from her face. Her soft complexion glowed underneath the sunlight from the windows as her blue eyes appeared to be glittering. Riku tried not to outwardly ogle her as he took his eyes somewhere else, only for them to land back on the beautiful girl._

 _That day, Riku experienced his first crush._

~.~.~

"Roxas!" Sora ran up to the blonde after class, who was on his way towards track practice.

"Sora," Roxas simply said as a greeting. "Going to practice as well?"

"Uh, no, not for a while actually."

"What? Why?" Roxas looked at Sora quizzically as Sora pointed to his foot.

"Broke a toenail in half—don't ask why—so I can't get into the pool for a while or else an infection will happen, so…" Sora chuckled sheepishly. Roxas nodded in understanding, secretly just blaming it on the spiky-haired boy's clumsiness.

"So? What's up?" Roxas stuffed his hands into his pockets, ears ready to listen to the reason why the boy approached him. Sora sucked his lips in and hesitated for a bit before he spoke.

"About lunch today…" Roxas raised an eyebrow at this, "I didn't know Kairi was your history partner." That was not what Sora wanted to say, but he felt too awkward to say what he actually wanted. Roxas noticed this as well, for what Sora said was way too random.

"Yeah. She has been for the past week," Roxas stated, point and blank. He didn't say anymore, which urged Sora to explain a bit more.

"At lunch today, you were kind of cool," Sora tried, again not saying exactly what he wanted to say. "You know, with Riku and all…"

"Really?" Roxas laughed, but it was a dry laugh. "You're weird, Sora. Telling a friend to shut up isn't really that great."

"It isn't, but… defending Kairi… I don't think I could've done what you did, so thank you." Feeling that he somewhat finally delivered what he wanted to deliver to Roxas, he kept quiet to listen to Roxas's response. However, not only did he get a response, he also earned a slightly disappointed frown.

"I don't think you should be thanking me—you should be doing something else."

"What?"

"Is Kairi your friend or something?"

Sora hesitated to answer this.

"Um, yeah, I guess."

"Then do what a friend is supposed to do instead of letting her get trashed on," Roxas bluntly said, tone a bit hard. Sora winced as he listened to him. "You just sat there listening to whatever Riku spouted. I only did what I did only because he was starting to tick me off, not for Kairi." Roxas sighed and stopped there, not wanting to exert mental energy before track practice. His voice softened when he saw Sora's guilt-ridden face and gave him a pat on the shoulder. "I'm going to head to practice now."

"Yeah, go ahead," Sora said, and the blonde left hurriedly through the doors. Sora leaned his back against the lockers before he chuckled. "What a friend I am."

Sora shouldered his backpack and went on his way to go back home. When he turned the corner, that was where he saw her.

Kairi had to stay after school to erase scribbles of permanent marker on her locker. Apparently, someone was upset with her enough to immaturely vandalize her locker. The only thing Kairi was glad about was the scribbles were merely random scribbles—not shapes or words.

 _Of course, it's not going to come off with water_ , Kairi thought to herself as she threw the wet towel in her hand into the trash can. She put her hands on her hips as she thought about what to do.

"You can always go inside the chemistry lab and get some rubbing alcohol."

Kairi literally jumped and turned around to see who it was. Her breath hitched uncomfortably when she saw Sora, who walked towards her locker to check out the mess. She took many steps away from him when he got closer. He showed no indication that he noticed as he traced some of the marks with his finger. "Hi, Kairi." He smiled at her—the usual.

"Hi… Sora." That was probably the first time she ever called him by his name. It sounded very foreign in her mouth the moment it left through her lips. She took another step back when Sora took another step forward. Kairi would be lying if she said she was comfortable being near Sora. Even though he was nice and he respected her space, him being male didn't sit well with her trauma. Roxas was the same.

She just couldn't bring herself to overcome her phobia of a male's touch.

"So?"

"Sorry, what?" Kairi didn't know what he hinted at. Sora jerked a thumb towards a direction back into the school.

"Let's clean up this mess, shall we? I'm sure the lab isn't locked yet, since school _just_ finished. We can make it if we run!" Sora already turned around and jogged towards the chem lab room, not allowing her to even have a say about what she thought about it. Not wanting to lose sight of him, Kairi already found her legs moving automatically as she ran after Sora.

When they arrived in front of the door of the chem lab, Kairi found herself out of breath as she stood with her hands on her knees. She was not fit _at all_ —she barely did well in PE class. Sora, on the other hand, didn't even bat an eyelash at the little marathon they just did as he tested the door to the lab. He grinned when it clicked open.

Sora explained to the teacher, who was in charge of cleaning up the lab, their need of rubbing alcohol. With rubbing alcohol, paper towels, and gloves in their possessions, they made their way back—slowly this time—towards the locker to clean.

Sora really wanted to help her, but he stood there like a stupid duck as he watched her do all the cleaning. The two of them couldn't do it at the same time, or else their arms might bump or something. Not able to handle being useless anymore, Sora knocked a fist on the lockers to gain her attention.

"Kairi, I'll do it," he offered as he watched her struggle at the higher ends of the locker. "I can reach that." Seeing no point in arguing about something that was undeniably true, Kairi stopped her motions and settled the bottle of rubbing alcohol on the ground for him to take.

"Thank you," she muttered quietly as she watched him get to work at scrubbing the top.

"What did you say?" Sora stopped his motions and signaled for her to repeat what she just said. "I didn't quite hear you." She shook her head again and remained silent. Sora sighed; he wasn't used to talking to someone so quiet like Kairi, so it made him extremely uncomfortable to just bathe in the silence. Deep down, he wished Kairi could just speak a little bit more.

"Alright, that should be it." Sora threw the towels wet with alcohol and the gloves into the trash. After inspecting that the locker was indeed wiped clean of all the mess, Sora and Kairi walked back to the lab to return the things.

"Thank you," Kairi muttered again when they began to walk towards the exit of the school.

"It's nothing," Sora assured.

"Sorry you had to do that." Kairi felt bad for involving Sora with her problems, but he felt differently. "You didn't have to help."

"'Sorry'?" Sora said with a frown. "You shouldn't say sorry. The people who did that does though." Kairi didn't respond to that. For some reason, Sora defending her made her feel oddly worse. She didn't want him to pity her, even if her situation was quite so. She didn't need it nor wanted it, but she didn't plan on voicing this thought.

When they exited out the school, harsh drops of rain met them and splattered violently against the wet cement floors. Kairi sighed—her bus stop wasn't too far, but if she were to walk with no umbrella, she would be completely drenched.

"Crap, I didn't know it would rain," Sora said as he peered up into the dark skies underneath the roof of the school. He looked over to Kairi, who was also looking at the sky grimly. "Do you have an umbrella?"

"Unfortunately, no," she admitted. Kairi wished she wore a sweater with a hood today; she had no choice but to just make a dash for it. Looking over at Sora to meet his eyes, she raised a small hand as a form of goodbye. "I'll head home now."

"Wait, wait, wait, you're seriously not thinking of walking to the bus stop like this, right?" Sora asked incredulously. To make his point, he stretched his hand out towards the rain. Instantly, a pool of water collected in his palm. "It's literally a hurricane out there. Here, I'll give you a ride home."

"No, you don't need to do that," Kairi quickly intercepted, not afraid to just turn him down. She didn't want to trouble him, and she also wanted to avoid awkwardness. A boy's car? _Oh no, no._ "I've walked home like this before."

"I'm not taking 'no' for an answer. I would literally be so mean to just leave you here to walk to your bus stop and walk home under this horrible rain. Come, you're going with me," Sora insisted, firm on his answer. When there wasn't a hint of a smile on his face, Kairi knew he was dead serious. Not wanting to keep pushing and pulling, Kairi admitted defeat and ran with him towards his car.

"It's a hand-me-down," Sora explained when he noticed Kairi inspecting his car. "So, it's a bit old. Go on—go inside." Sora unlocked his car and stepped right in to avoid the coldness. Kairi hesitantly opened the door to his car and looked inside. Sora kept his car clean, and it smelled nice too. She really didn't want to go in—she would feel so, so uncomfortable—but she had to as Sora waited for her expectedly.

Sora blasted the heater to warm their frozen bodies before reversing back. Kairi stared at his dashboard and nothing else, hands clamped together between her thighs. She sat way at the other edge of her seat to maximize distance between Sora and her, not because of her fear, but because it would make her feel more comfortable in some sort of way. "Just lead the way."

"Okay."

The more Sora drove, the more he realized how Kairi's house was a bit far. It was actually the opposite way from his house. When he passed the bus stop where she would've gotten off, he was glad that he drove her—she still would've had quite the distance to walk to her house once she got off.

"Peach house over there," Kairi said with a finger. Sora stopped abruptly since she told him a bit too late. "Sorry."

"It's fine." He reversed closer to her house and parked it when it was at a good distance.

"Thank you—"

"Sorry," Sora suddenly blurted out, interrupting her. Kairi couldn't help but raise her eyebrows slightly at the suddenness. Sora turned towards her, eyes apologetic for a reason she did not know.

"I don't understand," Kairi said quietly, voice soft against the crashing of the rain droplets on his windshield. Sora attempted to smooth his hair before continuing.

"During lunch today. Sorry about that."

"I still don't understand," Kairi said, voice a bit louder. Sora nervously let out a sigh—he had hoped Kairi had gotten the hint.

"Riku's attitude at lunch. I'm sorry about that."

Kairi made a small "o" shape with her mouth before she shook her head, very confused on why Sora had to apologize. Before she could question this, he continued to explain. "I don't know… I should've done something about it. Tell him to be quiet or something. I hesitated because I didn't want to cause any trouble… but I realized how that could've hurt you too. So, I'm sorry."

"It's because Riku's your friend, so it's okay," Kairi quickly assured, astounded by how Sora seemed to beat himself up over something she viewed as small. "I don't really mind—"

"But you are a friend too. Which leads me to another topic. Sorry, you probably want to go in by now—"

"—no, it's fine—"

"—but it'll be short!"

The two stared at each other before erupting into quiet laughter at their small, messy conversation. Sora tried not to stare too much when Kairi laughed or else she might've thought of him as a complete creepo.

"What is it that you want to say?" Kairi encouraged, her eyes curious behind her fake lenses. Sora sucked his lips in before explaining.

"I don't like watching, you know. Watching mean things happen to you all the time," Sora confessed. "It makes me sad, and even though you don't look like you do, you probably feel sad too." Kairi kept quiet as she listened to him, but she couldn't help but feel nervous the more he talked about this subject—it was an uncomfortable subject that no one really talked about with her.

"It's fine," Kairi tried to say strongly, but Sora's serious gaze made her weak.

"You keep saying that it's fine, but it's not," he argued. "This might be hard for you, but we can take small steps. Let's open up to each other, lessen the burden you have… I want to know about you, to help you. I'll just let you know this, so that you're never afraid or scared, Kairi. I won't touch you without your permission, so please don't be nervous around me," Sora said, eyes showing his honesty. "That's the last thing I want to do—to scare you. Okay?

"And one last thing before I stop holding you as hostage in my car," Kairi stifled a giggle at this, "Talk to me more. I swear I'm not going to like attack you or anything. I'm a nice guy—at least I think I am. Whether it be at school or through phone or text, just talk to me more. I won't bite."

It took Kairi a moment to process Sora's genuine and earnest request. Never had anyone tried so hard to communicate with her. It touched her heart and filled her with warmth. Truly, Sora was a good person—a person she never thought she would connect with.

"Okay," she said unthinkingly. "But I'm—"

"Shy. Yeah, I know. I think you clearly got that across the other day," Sora cheekily interrupted her. "I'm the opposite, so we even each other out. We can split it fifty-fifty too, my outgoing personality. I think it'll work."

"Split fifty-fifty? We can't just cut it in half…"

"Why not? It's a brilliant plan."

"If that happened, you wouldn't be Sora anymore," Kairi unexpectedly said, her fingers twiddling together on her lap. "That's no good…" She checked the time on her phone, which prompted her to leave his car. "I have to go now. I have to cook for my… family." She took her backpack that was at her feet, wore it over her back, and gave Sora a shy wave goodbye before she opened his car and ran towards her house for shelter away from the rain.

Kairi left Sora to simply watch her until she opened her front door, went inside, and closed it. He then looked at his steering wheel and groaned before resting his arms and face against it.

"Why is she so strangely cute…"

Kairi just said things that completely caught him off guard sometimes. Sora mentally told himself to prepare for them as he drove back home.

* * *

Woopee, here's chapter 6! This took a little bit longer to pump out because one, my bestest best friend has to do military service, so I spent more time with him :( Second, I have finals this week lmao (actually in two days) AFTER THIS I'LL FINALLY BE FREE FROM SUMMER SESSION BUAHAHAH. Third, your one and only: writer's block. But it's okay, I feel like it'll go away soon haha.

Sorry if this fic is like slowwwwww. I know some of you said that you guys liked my pacing, but this chapter idk HAHA. I SWEAR EVERY CHARACTER IS IMPORTANT. That's why I wrote about Roxas in this chappie and a little bit about Riku so that we won't forget about him.

One thing I want to say is that I'm just going to write kind of like a slice-of-life high school story, so don't expect big plot-twisty things. I want to write a fic not only about Sora and Kairi, but everyone's character development (but yeah it's mostly Sora and Kairi though hence sokai fic xDDD) Stay tuned :)

And hoho, I got more reviews than usual, so thank you so much! Glad you guys really like the story so far :)


	7. Chapter 7

"Guys, I'm back!" Sora hollered as he ran out to the pool deck, happily showing his healthy foot to his team. Whoops and cheers sounded for him as his team expressed their happiness at their captain's recovery before the big game against their rival school. "It's time to crush some Chocobo butts! Who are we?"

"Moogles!"

"Louder!"

"Moogles!"

"Since you're so excited, it's time for today's drills," Sora suddenly deadpanned, and he ruined their fun the instant he whipped out a whiteboard full of drills from behind the clocktower. "Coach is going to have fun today with us, so be prepared."

Namine laughed as she watched Sora dive into the pool, splashing everyone in the vicinity. In her hand was a book she read as she sat on the bleachers by the pool. She half-watched Sora's practice from time to time, since there had to be a purpose for her to be there in the first place. Sora randomly pulled Namine along during his practices sometimes, and she couldn't reject him.

"Admit it, Namine, I'm so handsome that— _ow!_ "

Namine had chucked her book at him out of instinct when he suddenly started climbing the bleachers towards her direction after practice.

"Stay the hell away from me," she growled, especially when Sora took off his swim cap to reveal his always-spiky locks. "Can you be a dog somewhere else? Don't shake the water off of—Sora!"

He laughed evilly as he shook his head and whipped water towards her direction, successfully getting her shirt damp with drops in the process. "Seriously, just get changed!"

After Sora showered and changed, the two of them exited out the gates that guarded the pool and made their way towards his car. Along the way, Sora took off his duffel and swung it over Namine, who nearly toppled over in surprise from the sudden weight.

"Dude, you're so annoying, I swear!" Namine groaned in complaint as she readjusted the strap to sit more comfortably over her chest. "Why is this thing so heavy? Isn't it just your swim clothes, goggles, towel, whatever?"

"I have a fu—freaking bag this size—you think it's just gonna hold clothes? You got another thing coming, don't you?" When Namine didn't respond and suddenly stopped in her movements, it made Sora a little bit concerned. Turning around to see what was up, he tried to smile at her against her disapproving frown. "What?"

"You know, Sora, I've told you many times and—unblock your ears, you doofus." Namine sighed and put two fingers on her temple when she saw Sora block his ears with his two fingers. He reluctantly listened to her and lowered down his hands. "What are you so scared of?"

"Me?" Sora chuckled nervously. "I'm not scared of anything."

"I know you better than anyone else," Namine snapped. She walked closer to him and hit him lightly on the chest with a fist. "I know how there's a curse-fest inside that head of yours that everyone thinks is innocent. You know, it's okay to say a few bad words sometimes—actually, no, it's not okay to say them in the first place—but you get my point!"

"Which is?"

"It's okay to show your true self… who are you trying to impress here? No one's going to hate you."

"You don't know that," and Sora gave her one of those disgusting fake smiles he perfected. "I'm fine. Honestly."

"And I thought you said you were going to quit blitzball—"

"I never said that. I only said that I was going to think about it."

"You told me it made you tired! Sora, you don't even like the sport—"

"Namine, seriously, I told you they need me—"

"To the point of exhaustion? Sora!"

"Namine…"

"Just because you're the popular kid you have to play the part? I know you're just a cheerful person in general, but you seriously overdo it sometimes. You gotta stop being the people-pleaser. Sora, you have friends, it's not like—you know what. Never mind. I don't want to fight with you about this again." Namine walked ahead, purposely brushing past his shoulder. Sora quickly followed behind her and blocked her path.

"Namine, I'm sorry," he quickly said with no hesitation. "Don't be mad at me." Namine crossed her arms and glared at him, which he returned with a sheepish smile. "Please? Namine, did you know you're the most beautiful girl I've ever—" Namine mocked a gagged and actually choked when she did so, causing Sora to burst into laughter.

"You're disgusting."

"Where's Roxas when you need him, you know? I shouldn't be the one saying these stupid corny phrases."

"When are you going to stop about Roxas?"

"Until you guys freaking get together."

"He doesn't even like me."

" _Pfft_ , we don't know that."

The two of them arrived at Sora's car, where they unexpectedly met Roxas and Riku who were waiting for them. By the looks of it, their little dispute the other day had quickly resolved. Sora immediately ran towards them and swung his arms around their shoulders, grinning from ear to ear.

"Oh, oh, oh? What do we have here?"

"It's a Friday," Riku answered shortly. "You know what Friday means."

"No sleep, junk food, and stupid gaming," Namine responded as she rolled her eyes and took Sora's keys from his pockets. She unlocked his car, threw his mysteriously heavy duffel bag in the back seat, and sat herself at shotgun. The three boys looked at her from the window with Riku blowing a low whistle.

"She's queen material. Not going to lie. She has sass," Riku said with an amused smirk. "She looks so gentle on the outside, but she's so ferocious on the inside. It actually scares me."

"Yeah, you think it doesn't scare me either?" Sora laughed as he opened his car. Roxas and Riku hopped on in. Before long, Sora started to drive back to Roxas's house, where their next hangout spot was going to be at.

Sora didn't expect Axel and Xion to join their little Friday party either as he saw them waiting near Roxas's front door.

"Hey, guys!" Xion said with a huge and happy wave. Sora parked horribly in front of Roxas's garage, but too tired to care, he just left it like that.

"If my dad saw this, he would roast the hell out of you," Roxas joked as he surveyed Sora's parking. Sora simply shrugged.

"Hope they don't have to go in and out of your garage anytime soon."

Sora didn't quite know Xion or Axel well enough, but he knew they were good people if they were friends with Roxas. Roxas had a talent of picking the right people to be friends with—Sora included himself in this list of friends. Xion, he could understand why—she was a very nice girl. Axel, on the other hand…

Sora just left the question of how Roxas and Axel even became friends in the first place as a mystery.

"Hell yeah, hell yeah, hell yeah!" Axel screamed as he rummaged through Roxas's fridge as if it was his own. "Dude, you have so much good food in here!"

"Don't make a mess," Roxas chuckled as he went over to the water filter on the kitchen counter and poured himself a glass. Sora nudged Namine forward and successfully made her stumble to Roxas, who smiled at her sudden appearance and motioned at his glass of water. "Thirsty? Would you like some water?"

"Uh, yeah, sure." Sora tried not to laugh at how Namine tried to stay calm. When Roxas poured more water into his glass to give to Namine, he realized his mistake and pulled it away. "Oops, I forgot to get you another glass."

"No, it's okay. I'll take this one." And Namine took the glass from Roxas's hand and drank it. Sora swore he was going to die from holding his laughter. He could see how Roxas gave her a morbid look before smiling and patting her on the shoulder. Roxas then went over to Xion, who was having fun with his pet dog.

"I heard people ship Roxas and Xion together," Sora half-whispered into her ear. "You should step up your game." Namine efficiently shut him up by elbowing him in the stomach.

Xion glanced behind her to look at Sora and Namine before poking Roxas on the shoulder.

"Hey, Roxas…"

"Yeah?"

"Namine's the girl you like, right?"

Roxas let out a hum of thought as he followed Xion's gaze and watched Sora and Namine poke at each other.

"I guess, yeah."

Xion blinked her eyes rapidly at him, clearly showing him her confusion.

"But uh…" She looked over at Sora and Namine. Roxas tried not to emit any laughter as he watched Riku tear the two apart from killing each other.

"But it's whatever. Keep it a secret, Xion."

~.~.~

Sora wasn't going to lie to himself—he had the most massive crush on Namine ever in elementary and middle school. So massive that he could literally call her his first love, even though he was that young at the time. It was simple. Pretty plus nice means crush. He really loved the way her blonde hair was so silky and soft and the way her pink and healthy skin glowed. The way her laughter made his stomach churn like gears in a factory, and the way she got annoyed at him from time to time just made him want to tease her more.

His crush abruptly ended somewhere around freshman year of high school when Namine suddenly told him she liked a certain blonde-haired dude—a mutual friend they made back in freshman year. Sora didn't know how to describe the feeling he felt—dejected? Sad? No, none of those.

He felt a bittersweet sting, as if his first love story was coming to a close despite nothing ever happening in the first place. Even though "bittersweet" wasn't the most positive word to describe his feelings, he actually felt okay. He felt satisfied with the role of "best friend"—not just satisfied, but _happy_. Sora was happy for Namine. Roxas was a smart, athletic, and mature guy—he wouldn't need to beat him up in the future because he knew Roxas would pass through his checks of approval in a second.

Sora wasn't too crushed by the news. After all, it was just a crush that lasted longer than it should've. Just because Namine liked someone else didn't mean he was going to stop being her best friend—they had too many memories together, and he was determined to make more. And because it was just a crush, his feelings for her drifted easily away (at least, he thinks so), buried somewhere in the sand of all the beaches in Destiny Islands.

It had been two years since they disappeared now that he was in his junior year of high school. Of course, sometimes there would be a slight flap of a butterfly's wing in his stomach once in a while, but he could confidently say that once they disappeared, it became easy for Sora to just push Namine towards Roxas's direction and help her out. She deserved it.

"What are you daydreaming about?"

Sora nearly spat out his soda when Roxas suddenly popped up from behind the sofa. He swiftly turned around to meet the blonde's questioning blue eyes. "Something's gotten you all jumpy. You okay, dude?"

"Never been better," Sora assured, flashing a smile at the blonde. He turned towards the TV, where Axel, Riku, and Xion were, unsurprisingly, mashing the buttons as if their life depended on it. He looked around, not seeing Namine at all. "Where's Namine?"

"Bathroom," Roxas answered, offering a finger towards the general direction of the bathroom. "She drank a little bit too much water."

"It's because you gave her so much. Of course, she can't reject that."

"I'm not following."

Sora simply grinned.

"You'll understand one day."

~.~.~

Kairi didn't expecting it at all. It was a Saturday—nothing happened on Saturdays. She usually stayed in bed with her laptop, scrolling through who-knows-what. Nothing really entertained her as much nowadays. While weekends were probably the most fun times for her fellow classmates, weekends for her just bore her brains out. She felt trapped, to tell the truth. She refused to hang around downstairs—she didn't want to see her father. Lately, things have been okay, since his emotions have calmed down for the past week, but she knew things would get riled up again in the next. That was just how things were. Sudden changes, mood swings—she wished she could just make it all better.

And so, because it was a Saturday, she didn't expect Sora to suddenly text her.

 _Are you free? Let's hang out._

Kairi did not how to respond to such a strange text. Hang out? What does that mean? Did he mean hang out online or…

He didn't let have her time to think, for he quickly sent another text.

 _I'm outside your house. Sorry, my feet stepped on the pedal and just magically got me here :)_

Kairi immediately got out of her bed and started to go through her closet. She didn't think, she didn't hesitate, and she didn't stop—all she thought about was that she would be caught dead to let Sora see her in this state.

 _Why is he here, why is he here, why is he here!_ She never felt so rushed and excited and horrified and nervous at the same time at such an intensity before as she combed her messy hair, pulled her legs through black jeans she had in her closet, and roughly put on a plain white long-sleeved she thought was the best looking. She didn't quite stop to think why she was trying her best to look good.

Combing her messy hair once more, she shoved her phone into her back pocket and went out her room.

"Dad, I'm heading out," she said softly and evenly despite how heavily she wanted to breathe because of her rapid movements. As always, her fingers were crossed behind her back. Her eyes warily observed the features of her dad. No frown, no crouched posture—seemed good. Her father typed away on his laptop, busily at work.

"Alright," was his simple reply, eyes never leaving the laptop he worked at. Kairi felt instant relief at how easy it was today and quickly shoved her feet into her shoes before opening her front door and closing it shut.

Sora wasn't lying when he said he was right outside. She could see his familiar figure leaning against his parked car, phone in hand as he scrolled through it. When he heard her quiet footsteps getting louder, he looked up from it, smiled at her, and raised a hand up for a small wave.

"Hey, Kairi," he said when she was within earshot. Kairi didn't notice the way he stared at her until she looked up from the ground and made eye contact with him. Realizing that he must've made her uncomfortable with his stare, he signaled a hand towards his own head. "Your hair's down. That's rare."

"Oh," she automatically let out, hand immediately reaching up to her hair that ended at her mid back. Completely forgetting about her hair and feeling super conscious, she was about to use the hair tie on her wrist when Sora shook his head.

"Leave it like that. It looks nice. Feels… different? In a good way though!" Sora gave her a thumbs up, which she looked at oddly before speaking.

"Why are you… here?"

"Oh, me?" Sora rubbed the back of his neck before taking his keys out of his pocket and sighed. "Today's a lonely Saturday. I didn't know what to do today besides procrastinating on homework, so here I am. You didn't really need to come out that fast… Sorry if you were busy."

"I'm not busy," Kairi corrected him, not wanting him to feel bad.

"I'll ask the question I was supposed to ask before I even came here: you free to do something?" Sora looked at her expectantly. Kairi was already outside anyway.

"Sure."

"Yay!"

Even though they were going to "do something", Kairi had no idea what to do. Even sitting in his car again made all her jumpy. She never really hung out leisurely before—she didn't have anyone to do it with. So, as Sora drove to wherever, she just plastered her eyes solely on the window, watching the scenery of the city pass through.

"Tell me something you've never done before."

"Hm?" Kairi looked over at Sora, who gladly had his eyes on the road. "What do you mean?"

"Like, activity. Fun stuff. Something you've never done before. Just blurt it out, and my genius mind can make up a schedule. It'll be Sora and Kairi day. Trust." Kairi's cheeks tinted a faint red when he gave her a warm smile at a traffic light. "Or it can be Sora and Kairi's hour. Or half day. However long you want."

"I'm fine with anything."

"You're making this hard. Hm…" Sora tapped a finger on his steering wheel as he waited for the light to turn green. "Hm, hm, hm… Here, how about you accompany me to a place I've been wanting to visit for a while?" Kairi really had no preferences, so she simply just nodded her head.

"Are your friends busy?" Kairi asked along the way. She was curious why out of all the tons of friends he had to spend his Saturday with, he picked her. She wasn't anything special, and she doubted she was even a fun person to hang around. She could tell how uncomfortable he got sometimes when she got silent, and how he struggled to speak with her. If anything, just being with her probably made his mind tired.

"Hm? No, they're not."

"Huh?"

"You're not busy. Are you?" Kairi didn't know how to respond to that as Sora parked his car. She didn't realize that they had already arrived until he took out his keys from the socket. "As for my other friends… Who knows. It's Sora and Kairi day, remember?" He laughed when Kairi tried not to smile. Climbing out of his car, Sora motioned for Kairi to get out too. "We're here!"

Kairi read the sign of the building.

 _Destiny Islands Animal Center._

"Animal shelter?" she said questionably to herself. Sora heard her and beckoned her to go through the front doors.

"Don't just stand there. Come, come!"

The scent of animals quickly filled her nose the moment she stepped foot into the animal shelter. Already at the moment of walking in, the tall, glass cages with guinea pigs in them greeted them. To the left was the service counter, and up ahead were doors that led to a variety of animals. It was Kairi's first time being in an animal shelter. She did not know what to expect.

Sora continued to lead her to a certain door. When they entered the room, she saw rows of fences where the dogs were kept at. He stopped at a certain cage and squatted down. Kairi hesitantly did the same next to him and peered through the metal fence.

There on the cushion was a beagle, which ran up against the cage the moment it saw the two.

"Hey, boy!" Sora chuckled as he stuck finger into the cage. The beagle immediately licked it, showering its love to its visitor. "How've you been?"

"You know this dog?" Kairi asked curiously, watching in amazement as Sora interacted with the dog. Sora nodded.

"I do. I'm a regular visitor here. They all probably know me by now. The workers, I mean. Oh, I wish all the animals knew me! Here, boy, who's a good boy? Let me go ask one of the volunteers if we can play with him in a room."

Soon after, Kairi found herself watching Sora as he cuddled with a dog with a volunteer in their room to watch them.

"Does he have a name?" she asked.

"Butter's the name," the volunteer said, happy to give an answer. "He's a senior dog, but he's still full of energy. Look at that tail wag." Indeed, Butter's tail never stopped wagging as he snuggled Sora.

"Any adoptions lately, Cid?" Sora asked, putting Butter down so that he could pat his head. "This place seems fuller than ever."

"It makes the place cheerful yet sad at the same time. These pets need homes. Candy the cat got adopted last week. That's the only good news." Cid sighed. He then glanced at Kairi, who instinctively scooted away to somehow appease his observant look. "This is a first."

"What is?" Sora asked.

"You bringing someone. You usually come here alone, lone wolf. The name's Cid by the way. How about you?" Cid stretched out a hand towards Kairi to shake. Kairi tensed up immediately as she eyed the hand. She tried not to let her discomfort show on her face as she forced a small and polite smile.

"My name is Kairi." When Kairi refused to shake his hand, she feared that he would think of her as extremely rude person and give her a mean look or something. However, before he could even make that impression, Sora swooped in and grasped Cid's hand in her place instead.

"Cid, you gotta remember where those hands have been. Have you even washed them?" Sora said cheekily as he shook Cid's hand enthusiastically. Cid took his hand away, gave Sora a mock glare, and rolled his eyes.

"Whatever, kiddo, you're the last person I want to hear that from. Here, you two kids have fun. I got paperwork to fill out. I don't think it'll hurt to leave you guys unattended for a little bit. Sora, you might as well work here."

"I should, shouldn't I?"

Cid gave the two teenagers a peace sign goodbye before he opened the door and closed it, leaving Kairi and Sora alone with the dog.

"He doesn't bite. Do you want to try petting him?" Sora encouraged. He turned Butter around so that he could face Kairi. His twinkling eyes look at hers expectantly, big and wide. His tail wagged a bit faster too.

"Um, I'm not sure if I get along well with do—eep!" Kairi squealed when Butter simply just ran up to her and placed his paws on her knees. Kairi released herself from her squatting position and sat down on the floor, letting Butter half-sit on her lap. She tentatively touched her fingers on his head before fully patting it. Soon after, she scratched him behind his ears, enjoying how the dog seemed to like it. "He's so cute and lovable."

"I know, right? I've been visiting him to see if he's still here from time to time," Sora explained, coming a little bit closer to her so that he could also take his turn petting Butter. She tried not to suddenly pull back. "And lo and behold, he's here, happy and still stuck in a cage."

"You visit him specifically?"

"Well, I pay a visit to the other animals here also, but yup. I think I want to adopt him. It's hard for him to find a new home since he's a senior dog. I'll gladly take him in since he's so cute! Hey, Butter! You're such a good boy."

Kairi felt a strange feeling as she watched Sora pull the dog closer to him and rubbed him. A huge smile splayed on his face, clearly showing his happiness at the sight of Butter.

 _So kind and gentle_ , Kairi thought.

"Go to Kairi! Go, go!" Sora pushed Butter back to Kairi, who wasn't as hesitant to pet him this time.

"You're so cute," she said to Butter quietly as she gently patted him. She smiled when he suddenly placed his head on her lap, tired from all the human rubs and excitement. "Cute."

Sora watched as Kairi's smile—something Kairi, for some odd reason, always tried to hide—appeared clear as daylight on her face. Sora mentally sighed in relief, glad that his choice of coming to the animal shelter turned out to be a good one.

"Kairi, I think a smile fits your image a little bit more," Sora said, catching her attention. He quickly became sad and regretted his words when Kairi's smile instantly disappeared, only to be replaced with a look of surprise when she looked up at him. He formed a shape of a smile with his two index fingers at his mouth. "Smile more. It's cute."

"I don't know what you're saying," Kairi quickly stuttered out, looking away from Sora's eyes. She distracted herself by petting Butter, chest bothering her as her heart quickened just a tiny bit from his compliment. Knowing how Sora probably felt awkward every time she shut down his nice compliments, she changed the subject. "What did Cid mean?"

"Huh?"

"What Cid said," she repeated. "About you going to the animal shelter alone." This question somehow made Sora slightly embarrassed, for he sheepishly looked away and rubbed the side of a finger underneath his nose.

"Haha, about that… It's not that big of a deal, but none my friends know I visit the animal shelter frequently. I've never really told anyone nor brought anyone along—they'd probably just get bored. Even my best friend Namine doesn't know. Don't tell anyone! It's a little bit embarrassing."

"Why is it embarrassing for you?" Kairi couldn't help but keep asking. Sora let out one cough, not expecting Kairi to suddenly become a darn detective.

"It just is… I just don't want people to know. Probably might think it's lame or something." Kairi completely disagreed about that—she didn't think it was lame at all of Sora to visit the animal shelter, but she didn't inquire anymore. He clearly didn't feel comfortable answering her questions, so she stopped.

When they were done visiting Butter, Sora introduced her to a few more animals before they left and bid some of the workers good bye. Sora told her about his pet sun conure back at home—he had to explain to her that it was a sort of parrot since she had no idea what a sun conure even was.

"He's very lovable. You should come and visit Kitty one day."

Kairi asked why he named his bird "Kitty". All he said was that it was a "phase."

It took Kairi a while—a very long while when they were half-way back to her house—for her mind to suddenly click about something.

 _I think a smile fits your image a little bit more. Smile more._

Kairi blinked as she stared at her faint reflection on the car window. _Where have I heard that before?_ It seemed almost graspable, but not quite. She kept digging deep in her memory, trying to find the source where she had heard or seen that phrase before. It was so, so close…

Seen that phrase.

Kairi widened her eyes.

The piece of paper.

 _I think a smile fits your image a little bit more. Smile more, since your life is still beautiful :)_

"Hey, Sora…"

"Yes?"

"Can I check something in here?" She pointed to his glove department when they reached a traffic sign. Glancing over to what she was pointing at, Sora frowned slightly before nodding, very confused.

"Um, sure."

Kairi leafed through a few papers and documents until she saw it.

His handwriting.

This time, it didn't take her long to recognize that his handwriting matched the one on the piece of paper.

 _Sora…_

Sora was a bit disappointed that Sora and Kairi day didn't actually last a whole day, but he didn't want to keep Kairi hostage any longer. He would have to work with her slowly until she was more comfortable. He swore that he was doing a good job, seeing her somewhat happy and positive in the animal shelter, but he had to rethink every single thought he had about this when he suddenly heard her sniff once.

Kairi was crying.

"Oh gosh, what did I do now? Ah, here's your house—the familiar peach house. Wait, let me park first. Okay, Kairi, what's wrong?" He didn't quite understand why she was holding a draft of his deadly old English paper so tightly, but that was the last thing he wanted to figure out. "Did I do something wrong? Oh my gosh, no, I think I know the reason why. Are you allergic to any—"

"No, I'm not allergic to anything," she laughed as she wiped a few of her tears. Never did Sora ever thought to see the day where Kairi laughed and cried at the same time. She smiled at him—a real smile this time—and sniffed. "It was fun today. I've never interacted with so many animals before, so thank you."

If they were under normal circumstances, Sora would've thought that Kairi was kind of cute when she smiled—like, actually cute-cute. The numerous times he thought she was cute before was different. They were more of a little-kid cute, or puppy cute, or watching-a-baby-grow cute or _whatever_. That was the only reason why he even dared to say "cute" and "pretty" compliments to girls out loud—he didn't mean it in any other way except for the sake of friendliness.

No, this time, it was girl cute. Having her hair down dramatically made the difference too. _Maybe not the tears—oh, right. Tears._

Sora's mind went back to the matter at hand.

"Is something wrong?" Sora asked hesitantly. Kairi shook her head and smoothed out the wrinkles she created on his English paper draft. _It's just a bad essay draft, why is she trying to make it look nice?_ When she finished ridding the paper of wrinkles as best as she could, she gently slipped it back into the glove department and closed it.

"Thank you for everything, Sora. You're really making a difference."

"I'm sorry, I'm not really following."

Kairi giggled openly, another thing that shocked Sora.

"Nothing. I had fun today. I'm going to go back inside now." Kairi gave a wave of her hand—which Sora noticed was a lot more confident—goodbye before she opened the door and stepped out. She crouched down a little bit so that she could look at him. "I want to see Kitty next time. Is that okay?" Sora cleared his throat as he tried to find his voice.

"Sure."

"Bye."

"Bye."

When she was gone from eyesight, Sora pinched the bridge of his nose, very confused with the sudden improvement between them within a matter of moments. She smiled and laughed and cried—what magic did Sora even pull?

"The fuck?"

Oops. He cursed.

~.~.~

After school on the following Monday, Kairi was on her way home when she coincidentally found a certain someone's ID card laying abandoned and forgotten on the floors of the hallways. Kairi picked it up and instantly recognized the person by their smiling picture.

 _Roxas Fair._

Grade eleven. The same grade as her.

Kairi wondered whether or not she should just turn it into the lost-and-found or just give it to him during his track practice. Since the track was on the way to her bus stop and that Roxas probably would've wanted his ID card asap, she decided on the latter and slipped it into her pocket.

Spotting him in the field was easy—he was in the middle of performing a discus throw. Right when she arrived by the fences of the field, Roxas had spun around and launched the discus high up in the air, effectively throwing it at a far distance.

"Not bad, Fair, but you still haven't beaten your PR from last year. Shape up!"

"Yes, Coach!" Roxas ran back to his duffel bag on the bleachers to get a drink of water. That was when he spotted Kairi behind the fences. A bit surprised by her sudden appearance, Roxas capped the lid of his bottle and jogged over to her. He startled her a bit when he grasped onto the fence with a hand. "Kairi."

"Uh, hi," she awkwardly said. Quickly taking his ID card out of her pocket, she wordlessly showed it to him. She didn't need to explain anything as he opened his mouth in a silent "oh", already guessing what had happened.

"Thanks. You didn't need to come all the way here."

"It was on the way." Kairi narrowed her eyes by the slightest as she estimated the size of the holes of the fence. To physically test it out, she tried to slip his ID card through—it was too big.

"How about—"

"We should—"

Roxas pointed to the gate. Kairi glanced her eyes over to it.

"Go through the gate," the both of them said simultaneously. They looked at each other for a second before Roxas laughed a little bit.

"Sounds like a good idea."

Kairi gladly handed Roxas's ID card back to him. Not really having time for chit-chat, Roxas gave her a quick thanks before having to return back to the field. Feeling like she did a good deed today, Kairi hummed to herself a little bit on her way to her bus stop.

She didn't expect to see Riku along the way, and neither did he.

He was walking back towards the direction of the school and towards her, a bag of food in one of his hands. He looked up from his phone when he noticed a person walking towards him from his peripheral vision.

When the two of them made eye contact, Riku was the first to harden his icy gaze. Kairi sucked her lips in, afraid to say a word as she stopped walking. He did the same, eyes never leaving hers.

"Well, if it isn't Kairi?" Riku smirked, but there was no hint of kindness behind it. Kairi remained quiet, silently hoping that he would just go on his way and walk past her. However, he did the exact opposite and simply just stood there, intimidatingly blocking her path on the sidewalk. "Quiet as ever, aren't you?"

"I need to go ho—"

"Weird as ever too. Just wanted to let you know that as well."

Kairi just gave up trying to use her words. Riku mockingly put a finger to his chin as he looked her up and down, causing her to get more and more scared. "Even to this day, I still can't figure you out. I don't think anyone has, but I doubt they even tried in the first place. You barely even exist, do you? Ha, strange indeed."

Kairi darted her eyes immediately to the ground when Riku started to walk closer to her. She took a deep inhale of breath when he was right in front of her, towering over her with his enormous height. "Weird people make others uncomfortable. Did you know that?"

"I'm sorry," Kairi said. She genuinely meant it. She already knew she was a germ in society—Riku didn't need to reinstate it for her.

"Besides your weird behavior, many things just irk me. What is up with you? The way you wear these fake glasses now," Riku tapped a finger on one of her glasses lenses. Kairi stayed frozen as she continued to look at the ground. She tried not to visibly shake. "Who are you trying to be here? A nerd? I know these are fake.

"And your hair…"

"What?" Kairi interrupted harshly, eyes closed shut as she tried to block the memories of her life during middle school. "Riku, stop. I'm sorry."

"You really fucking freaked me out, you know? I didn't know your black hair was all a sham when you suddenly started to grow out your red hair. Hell, I don't even know if this red color is even real." And then he grabbed some of her hair in his hand and felt it. At this point, Kairi just tried to remain standing and remain breathing evenly, no matter how much her knees wanted to buckle beneath her. "Just plain fucking weird."

And with that, Riku let her hair fall past his fingers and walked off on his way, satisfied with the way she feared him.

* * *

Hellooooo, and I'm done with summer session! Right now I'm finally on my two-week summer break (lmao so long, isn't it?) During this time, I hope I get to write a lot before another college year starts :) This time, i hope I can regularly write during college, since classes aren't going to be crammed in half :)

So yeah, just to clarify any confusion, all of them are in the same grade! Yeah, so :)

Once again, thank you thank you for the reviews! I'm glad to see people enjoying this haha.


	8. Chapter 8

_Eighth grader Kairi came back from the hospital and slowly entered her home. Motherless. Kairi blankly scanned her eyes over all the furniture in the house—the paintings on the wall, the framed pictures on the tables, the TV that sat in front of the sofas in the living room. Everything looked normal, as if nothing ever happened. Untouched, peaceful, quiet. That was what Kairi wanted to believe, that nothing happened. Everything was just a nightmare. She could wake up any second now from her bed and feel relief at the fact that all of it was just a nightmare._

 _Dreams and wishes always remained as dreams and wishes._

 _"Kairi…"_

 _Kairi turned around to face her father, who was also coming through from the door. He slowly locked it and mindlessly shuffled his feet against the ground as he entered the empty home. He looked around just like Kairi had done just a few seconds ago. He probably wanted everything to be a nightmare too._

 _"Dad," Kairi responded. She wanted to cry, but she couldn't; all her tears had already run out. Her father stumbled through the hallway and towards a large photo portrait hung on the wall—a picture of them when they got married._

 _He fell onto his knees, eyes dull as he stared at the wooden floor. Kairi slowly approached him, not sure on what to do._

 _"Kairi… why?"_

 _"What's the matter, Dad?"_

 _"You…" his voice cracked as a few silent tears slipped down his cheek. He slowly and robotically turned his head up to face his daughter, who looked very worried. "It's all your fault."_

 _"Dad?" Kairi backed away from her father when he suddenly stood up and dragged his body over her. She started when his hands suddenly clasped on both of her shoulders. He weakly shook her._

 _"Why didn't you listen? Mom and Dad were busy, but you never listen do you? It's all your fault that your mom is gone." He shook her back and forth, but there was not enough strength left in his frail body to shake her harder. Kairi swallowed down the rock lodged in her throat._

 _"Dad, it was an accident. They ruled it as an accident. Mom died because—"_

 _"She died because of you! All because of your inconsiderate request. She was busy, but no, you wouldn't listen. You just demanded to go biking that day, didn't you?"_

 _"Dad, what are you talking about?" Somehow, Kairi found her reserve of tears. "You know I would've never gone biking if I knew that… that…_ _ **this**_ _would happen! I want Mom alive too! I don't want her dead! I don't want her… dead."_

 _Her mother was dead._

 _Reality liked to crash like waves. The first wave would be gentle—unaffecting. The next waves, however, weren't as kind._

 _"It was an accident…" Kairi continued to say as she gently pried her dad's hands off of her shoulders. "It was an accident… It wasn't my fault. I didn't know… It was an accident… It was… my fault…" She stopped talking and hugged her father, whose body was limp against her own. "I'm sorry, Dad."_

~.~.~

Kairi had been feeling a bit better recently, but all Riku had to do was remind her of who she was for her to crumble. As she walked through the hallways to get to her class in the morning, she remembered her true self and clutched her books tightly to her chest, effectively avoiding everyone—there wasn't a lot of people anyway in the early morning.

A freak. That was what she was.

As she walked down the hall, a certain person noticed her as she briskly walked past him and his locker. He decided to catch up to her, not expecting anything wrong to happen.

"Hey, Kairi, about my ID card last wee—"

"Don't touch me, don't touch me, don't touch me," she said desperately to the person who tried to talk to her, eyes strictly locked onto the ground as she completely walked around him and continued on her way. She didn't stop her movements even for one second. All she wanted to do was head to class. She didn't want anymore trouble. _No more._

"Hey, hey, hey." She had to stop when the person completely intercepted her path. She looked up to see who even dared to approach her and was surprised to see Roxas's slightly concerned eyes on her. She took two steps back from him. "Is everything alright?"

Roxas. He was nice, but she really didn't want to talk to anyone.

"I have to go to class."

"Chill, there's literally twenty minutes left. You came early. Well, you always come early, don't you?" Roxas tried to give her a light closed-mouth smile, but it failed. Only a serious look adorned his features as he saw Kairi's jumpy and anxious state. She looked so sickly pale and panicky—and he wasn't even that close to her. Deciding that it was best to just leave her alone for now, he said a quick apology.

However, his apology went unheard when Kairi suddenly fell to the ground, books clattering heavily onto the ground. "Kairi!"

Roxas quickly dropped his duffel bag and stooped down to her level. His hands naturally went out towards her, but he stopped in his movements when he remembered her strange fear. However, he shook his head to himself—that was the last thing he should be worried about. Gently but swiftly, Roxas slipped a hand underneath her head and propped her up. She had fainted.

"Kairi, wake up. Do you hear me?" Having taken a random first-aid class, Roxas set her back down and lifted her legs up in the air by about a foot.

"Roxas, what's going on?" He half-turned around to face Namine, who was just walking by as well when it happened. Her curious expression quickly got replaced with a look of worry when she realized what had happened. "Is she okay?"

"She just fainted," Roxas explained. He might've not looked like it on the outside, but inside, he was anything but calm—he was flat out panicking. When Kairi stirred awake, he never felt so much relief in his life. If she had remained unconscious for more than a minute or two, he wasn't sure what he would do besides call for help.

"R-roxas?" she muttered. The lights on the ceiling were way too blinding for her as she felt her world spin.

"Sorry, Kairi, I gotta do this." Roxas pried off her bag from her back. "Namine, can you help me get her to the nurse's office and carry her backpack and my duffel?"

"Y-yeah, of course." Namine watched as Roxas heaved Kairi up into his arms and quickly headed to the nurse's office. She followed close behind as she carried their stuff.

In the nurse's office was the nurse and Mrs. Gainsborough, who were happily chatting in the morning before work started. The moment they saw Roxas and Namine enter with Kairi, their chatter instantly stopped.

"Oh dear, oh dear, set her down here. Come, come," the nurse said as she ushered Roxas over to a very neatly-arranged bed. Roxas gently settled Kairi body on the bed and adjusted the pillow for her. He sighed as he looked at her frail body. What in the world went on in her life?

"What happened?" Mrs. Gainsborough asked as she joined Roxas near the bed.

"She fainted out of nowhere," Roxas explained. He mouthed a "thank you" to Namine when she handed him his duffel bag back. She settled Kairi's backpack and books at the edge of the bed. "I just happened to see her before she did."

"I-I'm okay now," Kairi muttered as she tried to sit up, but the nurse settled her back down.

"You're in no shape to just go. Stay here while I check up on you."

"But—"

"Stay."

"Okay." Kairi gave up and laid back down on bed. She still felt tingly all over her body as she still felt weird after her short fainting spell.

Roxas and Namine stayed in the nurse's room even after the first bell rang as the nurse did a check up on Kairi. Mrs. Gainsborough had to leave for her class and bid Kairi a quick recovery.

"Are you under stress, my dear?" the nurse finally asked after she did a general check.

"Um, a little bit," Kairi lied. Of course, the nurse didn't believe her, but she left her be anyway.

"Besides the whole fainting spell, you're fine. Nothing serious. You just need some rest, okay? Take it easy."

"Thank you."

"As for you two," the nurse turned around to face the two blondes. "I'll write you guys a pass, so hurry back to class. It's not good to miss it."

"Thank you," the two of the simultaneously said. As the nurse went over to her desk to get passes, Roxas and Namine took a few steps towards the bed to speak to Kairi.

"You're feeling okay, right?" Roxas asked. Kairi slowly nodded.

"Yes. Thank you for… bringing me here." Kairi knew how Roxas had carried her here. Because of her brief moment of passing out, however, she was just way too out of it for her phobia to get triggered. "Sorry for the trouble… and how I treated you."

"I already told you before; it's fine. You have your reasons," Roxas assured her. Kairi managed the tiniest of smiles.

"I hope you feel better," Namine said. She had been standing there awkwardly—Roxas and Kairi seemed to have known each other already. Kairi turned to face Namine. She recognized her as the blonde girl who was around Sora a lot.

"Thank you…" Kairi left her sentence hanging, silently asking Namine for her name.

"I'm Namine." Kairi frowned slightly; she swore she heard that name somewhere from before.

 _Even my best friend Namine doesn't know. Don't tell anyone!_

 _Ah,_ Kairi thought, finally recognizing the name. _Sora's best friend._ Namine stuck out a hand for Kairi to shake, who simply looked at it for a moment before hesitantly—and very slowly—shaking it.

"Kairi." Kairi was sure that Namine probably didn't even need an introduction from her—her reputation probably already did the job—but she did so anyway out of politeness.

Kairi performed a quick analysis on Namine—something she always did whenever she encountered someone new. Facial features, expressions, posture, tone of voice—everything had to be combined and included in the equation for Kairi to spit out her results. Clearly, Namine was uncomfortable under Kairi's presence and gaze. Kairi found nothing weird about that—the blonde simply represented most of the school's population.

She was a bystander.

Well, Kairi didn't care too much. She never expected anyone to care about her anyway. She loved bystanders—they never got involved with her and simply left her alone.

"Well, we'll be going now," Roxas said as he held up the pass the nurse gave to him. "Feel better. See you later."

"Bye. Again, sorry…"

"You're fine," Roxas repeated. "Think of it as payment. We're even now." Kairi raised an eyebrow.

"Payment?"

Roxas whipped out his ID card.

"For finding my ID card. I was ready to just go buy another one if you didn't find it."

"Oh. I see."

"Yeah, so. You're good."

"No more chit chat, go back to class. No skipping!" the nurse ushered the two blondes out jokingly. "Let the girl have some rest."

"Alright," Roxas laughed, and both him and Namine gave Kairi a wave goodbye before leaving the nurse's office.

~.~.~

Kairi didn't even know how much stress she felt until she fainted. Riku just made her relive many things from back then, and her father once more wasn't in the best state. Yesterday was a peak. Even though she convinced herself that she was used to her dad's behavior, in reality, it probably wore her away every single day. It finally took her this week to realize it—she was sick of it. Some days, it would be okay, and other days, it would be complete hell. She shouldn't be feeling like she's walking through a field of landmines whenever she entered her house. She shouldn't be feeling so trapped in her room.

She shouldn't be feeling guilty, but she did. No matter what she did, nothing seemed to make him better. What was she even doing all this for?

And her phobia. She just had no words for it. It was such a burden, always interfering with her attempt to just live as peacefully and normally as she could. Kairi covered her face with her hands, shielding herself from the sunlight coming out from the window.

Two horrific accidents happening in the same life of a girl. How unlucky was she?

Kairi, once again, entered a mode where she just looked through her entire lifetime and wondered how it even became this messed up. It was an endless cycle. As she laid on the bed in the nurse's office, she wondered when she could ever break free.

Someone—she wanted to talk to someone. Someone who could help her out maybe. Listen to her. Help her break free.

 _Sora?_

Kairi couldn't describe the feeling she felt when she found out who wrote those notes way back in the beginning. Words weren't efficient. At that moment of revelation, for the first time ever, she truly felt like she had an ally. A friend. Someone she could depend on. The one kind person she had been looking for in her entire lifetime. Sora, the boy who truly had the biggest heart she had ever met.

Kairi shook her head. He wouldn't do. She felt like he wouldn't understand. He was just so cheerful and positive—she didn't want to ruin it with her gloominess and negativity. Even though he insisted for her to talk to him more…

No, she couldn't. Not about this. Anything but this.

Sora didn't deserve to carry this burden.

~.~.~

Sora was just putting his books away during break when he heard it.

"Did you hear what happened this morning?"

"Huh? What happened?"

"The red-haired girl that's scared of boys."

This instantly peaked Sora's interest.

"Eh, what about her?"

"Apparently, some people said they saw her just drop like a limp doll. She fainted out of nowhere."

"Oh gosh, that's scary."

"Yeah, there were only a few people there when it happened, since it was so early in the morning. Heard she's okay now though. My friend told me that he saw Roxas carry her to the nurse's office. She must've been very out of it. That was the first time I ever saw someone touch her."

 _Roxas?_

Sora momentarily got thrown off when he heard his name, but he quickly went back to the important matter at hand. Wanting to hear more, he approached the two guys who were talking about it.

"Oh, Sora!" one of the guys exclaimed, surprised at his appearance. "What's up?"

"The girl. Is she okay?"

"Huh?"

"The redhead," he phrased differently, really wanting an answer. "Is she at school right now?"

"Oh, we don't know…"

Sora sighed, but made sure to thank them before he headed off to his regular break hangout spot near one of the lockers, hoping to see Roxas there, but he didn't. The only person he spotted was Namine, who was reading her book as she waited for people to come.

"Namine."

"Oh shi—Sora, you scared me!" Namine squealed as she turned her body around to face the spiky-haired boy who suddenly appeared behind her. He sheepishly gave her a smile.

"Sorry. Hey, where is everyone?" Sora asked. Namine simply shrugged as she closed her book.

"No clue. Well, uh… Roxas—"

"Roxas?" Sora closed his mouth when Namine shot him a glare for interrupting her.

"Roxas… went to the nurse's office." For some reason, Namine looked uncomfortable as she spoke. "Checking up on her."

"Her? Kairi?"

"Yeah."

Curiosity killed the cat. Sora immediately rushed towards the direction of the nurse's office. Not sure why he was, Namine simply followed him.

Sora had his hand at the door handle and was about to just burst open the door to the nurse's office with a huge push, but he stopped himself when he heard the loud muffles of sound from behind it.

Loud sounds of crying.

"Sora—"

"Shh," he put a finger to his lips to shush Namine. She obeyed and simply listened with him. Sora felt bad for doing what he was about to do, but he also didn't want to interrupt the moment with his presence. He opened the door to the nurse's office only by a slit so that he could hear better. Immediately, Kairi's sounds of crying became clear as day as she openly wailed. Sora couldn't help but feel a pang of hurt at his chest.

Her cries sounded so painful and desperate. Her voice would release an initial loud cry of anguish, only to disappear as her breath harshly heaved out of her lungs. It was as if all the air got knocked out of her before the cycle continued with the loud cries. Sora has never heard her cry like this before nor ever seen this side of her either.

"Shh, it's okay," Roxas's gentle voice tried to soothe. "You're okay." Kairi didn't say anything as she continued to openly cry, to just let go of everything in this one moment. Even though she felt a terrible pain at her chest, she felt good. She felt good just to cry it out at this extreme—something she hasn't done for such a long time. She felt good to not give a shit about anything anymore and just _let it go._

Roxas could be heard sighing as he continued to try to calm the redhead down. "Kairi…"

"I'm sorry," she said between her sobs. "I'm sorry. I…"

"You're okay, Kairi. Really. Maybe I shouldn't have told you. Then you wouldn't be crying like this."

"No… Thank you for telling me. I just—I—"

"You don't have to explain yourself. Just let it all out, but maybe not too loudly. You'll worry people." When Roxas said that, Sora just knew that Roxas knew of their presence—he was just that keen. Gently closing the door, Sora released his hold on the handle and turned his back against it. His eyes met with Namine's, which showed their genuine concern. It was at that moment that Sora realized something.

He knew nothing about Kairi.

 _Thank you for everything, Sora. You're really making a difference._

Sora laughed at himself.

 _What difference am I making?_

 _~Eight Minutes Ago~_

Kairi was not expecting Roxas to come to the nurse's office during break to visit her. She was in the middle of just staring into space as she sat upright on the bed when he came, knocking her out of her trance.

"Hey," he greeted simply, settling his duffel bag over to the side. He took a chair and sat on it, which made Kairi feel funny—it was as if she was hospitalized or something. Kairi gave him an inquiring look. Before she could ask her question, he already answered it. "Just came to make sure you're okay. You gave me a spook this morning."

"Sorry."

"It's fine. Also… I just wanted to tell you something." This really piqued Kairi's interest. What in the world would Roxas ever have to say to her? Kairi didn't want to think cold thoughts, but she honestly thought she wouldn't be seeing anymore of Roxas after their history project together.

"You have something you want to say?" She hoped that it wouldn't be anything bad.

Roxas clasped his hands together between his parted knees and sighed. He looked around the room, fidgety motions already telling Kairi that what he had to say must've been important. She couldn't help but feel so curious about how it had anything to do with her.

"You know… you kind of remind me of myself from way back then," Roxas started, laughing dryly at the end of his phrase. "Not good."

Kairi was again about to ask a question, but she decided that it was best to just listen to the rest of what Roxas had to say. "Things are going to get personal real quick, just to let you know as a warning. I'm not sure what you've gone through in your life… but I'll tell you a little bit about mine.

"I'm not sure when it all started. I was just an immature kid back then, so I didn't notice until things got really bad. I'll just say it now so that you'll understand the whole context: my mom died of lung cancer when I was in seventh grade. She was diagnosed with stage three before we even knew it, so. My dad was laid off then, so we couldn't afford extensive treatment.

"I don't want to make this long, but truly, I swear it felt like I was living in hell back then. I was only a sixth grader, so seeing my mom hooked up to machines and seeing her lose her hair gradually was out of this world for me. It isn't something an average sixth grader dealt with, so I didn't really know what I was supposed to feel. Definitely, I felt sad, but could I feel anything more?

"I never cried either during her treatment, which is still shocking to me today. The little hopeful thinking children have is incredible. Inside, I was like 'no, Mom's going to get better any time soon. I always got sick with the cold, and they always went away after a week or two! Mom's sickness will go away too.' That wishful thinking probably helped me get through it all. Going to school was hard too. No one knew about my family situation. I pretended to be fine every week, playing with my friends like usual and laughing like usual. No one knew that after school, I would live my second life and visit my mom in the hospital. I felt really alone in the world. I didn't have anyone to confide to. Even if I did, I doubt they would understand. Death—something unimaginable to young kids.

"So, every day for almost a year, I felt like I was suffocating. It was dark and lonely, living that type of closed life for so long. Hope drained away slowly as I watched my mom get worse and worse. People noticed me change throughout the year too. I went from a cheerful kid to a quiet one. I was more sensitive too. I remember a person accidentally pushed me down to the ground during soccer this one time, and I blew a tantrum. I actually got detention a lot too because of it. I kept to myself, since it was hard faking happiness at that point.

"And then it all ended at the end of my summer break before eighth grade. My mom finally got her break and died. It hurt to see her go away, and it hurt even more when I knew she fought all she could with a smile on her face. When I grew up, I knew she kept that smile for me so that I wouldn't feel sad. It wasn't the best way, but that was how my summer vacation ended."

Roxas rubbed the back of his head uncomfortably when he saw Kairi staring at him. He was usually good at reading people, but he couldn't read Kairi; her expression was just so blank. "That's kind of it, but not really. I haven't gotten to the main thing I want to say yet. I didn't come here just to tell you a random sob story.

"I thought my world literally ended. I had no mom. It only became my dad and I. My dad grieved too, but he tried his best to take care of me too. Eventually, he found a good job, so we've been doing pretty good ever since. Things definitely didn't get better within a snap of a finger. I was still closed off and was basically still depressed. Things were different in the emptier house. It took me a while to adjust to my new life without my mom.

"I had a strong belief that I would stay stuck in the darkness forever. I really did, but things just changed slowly without me realizing it. The past stays in the past; it doesn't really follow you too much in the future unless you let it. As I went on into the present, the past waved me goodbye. I told me that it was time to just let go. Of course, I would never let go of my mom, but I let go of all the bad stuff. Soon after, life just became back to normal. I got promoted from middle school. I met great friends in high school and I've been in the track and field team since freshman year. Grades are okay—studying is never fun—but I can confidently say that I'm living the normal life I should be having.

"I don't know what you've been through in your life, but I just wanted to tell you this: it gets better. Might not look like it's getting better, but it does. Trust me. Even if you feel like there's no escape from all the shitty things going on, there is, and it's up to you to find a way out. And you're not alone. People will be there for you; you just have to find the right ones. Rough, I know." Roxas laughed a little bit before he continued. "Sometimes along the road, you just have to let it go. Just… let it go. Free yourself a little bit. Nothing's holding you down except yourself. It's not good to hold it all in. If you feel like crying, well fuck, just do it. Nothing's going to stop you. Yeah, well, that's all I wanted to say. It sucked for me to just see you like this, so I just wanted to give you some positive words. Make you believe that the world is a less shitty place than you think it is.

"Things get better, so have your head up."

For the first time ever, Kairi cried her heart out in front of someone.

~Present~

Roxas was someone Sora really admired. He was level-headed, mature, and intelligent. There seemed to be nothing wrong with him—he was literally the perfect guy. It wasn't a mystery why Namine liked him.

So, as Sora left the nurse's office, he never felt so dejected in his life. Sure, his friendship with Kairi wasn't fleshed out yet, but he thought that they really were getting there, one step at a time. Soon, he thought, she would maybe open up, smile more, and look less dreary as the days passed (Sora wondered how many times he thought about this). Sora would've felt very accomplished if he ever reached that stage.

When he heard Kairi cry, it just hit him with a bam—Sora didn't even know anything about her. They talked here and there, and they even hung out on a weekend too, but was there even anything more? Sora probably already knew this fact deep down inside—that was why he tried hard to make her open up—but Roxas seemed to do all of it in one single day.

Roxas was just that cool. It made him believe that everything he did was all for naught.

Besides all the obvious qualities, Sora pondered upon a thought.

 _What makes me and Roxas different?_

"Damn."

"Are you okay, Sora?" Namine asked worriedly as she watched Sora slam his locker harshly after school. Sora rarely vented out his emotions physically.

"I'm fine. Just in deep thought."

"That's rare."

"Oh, just shut up." Sora was about to ruffle her hair, and his hand was already in the process of it, but he stopped suddenly and let his hand fall back to his side. Namine noticed this, her frown of concern never going away.

"I hate it when you don't talk to me," she blurted out. Sora raised an eyebrow at her sudden outburst.

"Talk about what?"

"… Never mind." Namine seemed upset as she looked away from. This caused Sora to slightly panic—did he do something wrong? Before he could ask her about it, he was interrupted.

 _Slam!_ _Bang!_

Sora and Namine immediately whipped their heads over to the sudden sound of slamming against the lockers. Already, they could see a crowd circling around the area, blocking their view of what was going on.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, Roxas, my dude, chill, chill," Riku chuckled deeply as he mockingly held up both his hands up in the air as a form of surrender. "There's nothing to get angry about." Sora and Namine managed to squeeze through the crowd to see what was going on, only to melt into horrified expressions.

There pinned against the lockers was Riku as Roxas menacingly clutched at the collar of his shirt.

"Just shut up," Roxas snarled. "There's a limit of how much crap spills out of your mouth."

"Damn, Roxas, I never knew you could get mad like this. I've been wondering why you've been silently glaring at me these past few weeks, but I finally figured it out. You dislike me a lot, don't you?" The smug look on Riku's face did not quell Roxas's anger at all. He didn't respond to that last comment. "What have I ever done to you?"

"You must really enjoy stepping on people to make yourself feel better, don't you?" Roxas growled, pulling Riku by his collar only to slam him back against the locker. "I've always stayed quiet because I know it's just your stupid ego inflated by high school popularity and because you're Sora's friend, but this 'popularity' of yours is getting to your head."

"Stepping on people? Whoa, there, son— _oof!_ " Roxas didn't hold back as he pressed Riku harder against the lockers. "Man, for someone from the track team, you're pretty strong. Hey, no one ever said I stepped on people. All I say is just a few harmless jokes."

"Harmless jokes?" Roxas said incredulously. "Calling someone a dysfunctional, disabled freak of nature doesn't sound like a fucking harmless joke to me!"

"Guys, guys, stop it!" Sora ran up to them and with all of his strength ripped the two apart from each other. Both Sora and Namine kept the two separated by standing in between them, making sure one of them didn't claw at the other. "Do you guys know where we are right now? We're at school!"

"Sora, tell me when you made friends with such a vicious person. I thought you were cool, Roxas, but," Riku shook his head, as if very disappointed, "guess not."

Calming down, Roxas adjusted the strap of his duffel bag and huffed a breath, running a hand through his hair.

"I'm heading to track practice now," he said cooly to Sora and Namine, who both looked at him with fear. They've never seen the blonde get so angry before—he seemed to break the record every time he did . "See you guys later." And he turned around and swiftly pushed his way through the crowd.

"Sorry you had to see that, Sora. Roxas just got angry at me," Riku laughed, trying to make the atmosphere better. Sora wanted to ask questions, to interrogate Riku, but he kept his mouth shut. He forced himself to smile brightly at Riku—something Namine severely disapproved—and patted him on the back.

"It's okay."

~.~.~

" _Don't touch me! Stop!"_

 _Riku's palms painfully scraped against the cement floor as he slid on the ground from the force of the push. The pain didn't register in his mind yet as he immediately looked up to see the black-haired girl's eyes looking at his wide ones fearfully. She shielded the sun from his view, making her face look more scared as her lips shivered. Her arms held herself tightly as she backed away from him. Body shaking until it fell to the ground, she curled herself up as she cried. "Don't touch me! Disgusting… disgusting!"_

" _K-kairi?" he managed to whimper as he struggled to stand up. He looked at his bloody and ripped palms before he glanced back at the girl. Every step he took towards her, she crawled away. The look in her eyes made him dumbstruck. She looked at him with fear and delirium, as if he was a big bad monster ready to attack her._

" _Haha, she just called Riku disgusting!" one of the kids near them laughed. "Ew!"_

" _Who'd ever thought Riku would be the one with the cooties? Cooties, cooties!"_

" _M-me? I'm not disgusting," Riku stammered as he looked at everyone. They all looked like they had red eyes of a demon as they watched like spectators of a game. "What are you guys saying?"_

" _Stay away from me," the black-haired girl continued to whimper. "Please."_

 _Unable to stand the laughter and the embarrassment, Riku ran away from everything and went to the boy's bathroom. There, he turned on the water and viciously scrubbed his injured hands, ignoring the pain and sting. For some reason, no matter how much he scrubbed it with soap, he continued to feel dirty._

" _I'm not disgusting," Riku muttered to himself as he desperately washed his hands to the point of rawness. "I'm not disgusting… I'm not disgusting!"_

~.~.~

 _Her dad told her he hated her brilliant blue eyes and her vivid red hair—it reminded him too much of his late wife. Every time he saw his wife in his daughter, he couldn't help but grieve and mourn all over again. Kairi was the reason he was trapped in the past. Because Kairi didn't want her dad to be sad every time he looked at her, she thought of only one thing to do._

 _Buying a kit of black hair dye and a pair of glasses, Kairi ridded herself of her red hair and wore glasses that dulled the colors of her eyes. When she looked in the mirror, she couldn't believe that the person she was staring at was her. But it was okay._

 _This way, her dad might not feel sad anymore._

* * *

Hey guys, so here's another chapter!

I know there isn't much Sora and Kairi interactions here. In this ch, I focused more on plot development, the unraveling of the past, and development of the characters so that foils can be made (e.g Sora vs Roxas). If I keep trying to make Sora and Kairi interact, then the other characters won't be as important (something I realized when i wrote my other fanfic). Hope this chapter was okay for you guys!

Definitely, I'm going to make everyone have a role (Namine, Riku, Roxas, etc.) to the best of my ability so hopefully it'll turn out okay xD

I actually had a hard time writing this chapter, since I tried my best to make a punch out of it. ofc, this is a fic set in a high school setting, so there isn't much drama I can make out of it haha, but I'm trying! Writer's block is slowly haunting me again, but I'm fighting against it, so no worries 8)

While re-reading this, I realized flow was very weird at points (aka rushed slash awkward) Sorry, I'm actually bad at writing monologues! like how do you space it when it's only one person talking?! So Roxas and his story might get a revision later in the future :'))) I have a hard time writing dark themes too, so all this is a work in progress towards better story writing :')))) *tears of both joy and sadness*

Again and again, thank you for the reviews! (and the consistent amount of views on my chapters. it's telling me that people aren't dropping it ToT)


	9. Chapter 9

_Your life is still beautiful._

Kairi glided her hands gently over the old note she pinned against the wall. Sora's handwriting was very pretty for a guy's. With slightly slanted letters, everything he wrote was uniform. Even on a plain piece of paper, the words were written very neatly and linearly, indicating how each letter was created with care and delicacy.

"Sora," Kairi tested his name in her mouth again. She didn't get the chance to say his name much since she never had any purpose to get his attention. It was usually him who called her out—it was usually him that initiated their conversations.

And because he was the one who initiated everything, Kairi oddly felt lonely when he suddenly started to approach her less often. She could tell; it wasn't just her paranoid mind making its conclusions. She knew that he would spot her sometimes after school and in the library, but he never came up to her like he used to. It wasn't as if he stopped communicating with her—he just did it less. Not only was it less, the content was more… forced. She didn't notice it until now, but Sora's happy hello's and the sound of his warm voice calling out her name filled her day more than she thought it would. When they started to lose its purpose, she felt lonely.

 _Is Sora giving up on me?_

Kairi felt butterflies of anxiety flap wildly in her chest as that thought passed through her mind.

 _My only friend._

Kairi flopped back onto her bed and hugged her blankets to her chest, eyes staring at the night sky that twinkled with so many stars. With a hand, she removed the hair tie that clamped a tight ponytail together on her scalp. She shook her head so that her hair could spread freely across her bed and went back to looking at the night sky through her window.

Her mind came across another thought.

 _Things get better, so have your head up._

The last thing she expected from the nonchalant boy was a tragic story about his own childhood—a childhood that Kairi deeply resonated with. When he told her when he lost his mother, Kairi couldn't help but feel less alone: she lost her own mother at around the same time as him too. She knew better than anyone else that reliving the past was one of the worst things to do. It made the emotions come back to life—made it come back to haunt you. She knew it probably took Roxas a lot to tell his story to a stranger like her, even if he didn't look like it did. Amazing her like always, Roxas calmly he told his personal story to her, all for the sake of giving her advice and persuading her to believe that this world isn't all that bad.

Of course, the embarrassment of crying like a baby in front of someone she barely knew burned her alive, but she didn't regret it. It felt good. It felt good to finally release some of the anguish that collected over time and gnawed at her day in and day out. Even if the anguish came back to fill the reservoir again, at least for now, the chains on her would feel looser. For that, she thanked Roxas deeply within her heart.

But there was one thing that Roxas said that extremely irked her.

 _Nothing's holding you down except yourself._

No matter how much Kairi thought about it, she just couldn't wrap her mind around such a foreign idea.

 _How exactly do I have control of anything right now?_

Kairi turned off the light of her lamp, deciding to just stop thinking about it and escape the world once more through sleep.

~.~.~

The first time, Roxas had forgiven Riku, but the second time, it was over. Sora, Namine, Riku, and Selphie ate their lunch without Roxas ever joining their table for the fourth day that week. The awkward and intense air continued to invade the atmosphere despite Roxas's lack of presence. Everyone knew what was wrong, but no one dared to even talk about it.

Sora glanced over towards the Organization's table where Roxas sat with Axel and Xion and sighed. He hadn't been able to talk to Roxas the whole week either—the blonde was simply too busy. Sora had tried to lighten up the mood with his infamous cringey jokes so that people could start laughing, but no one was having it. For some reason, Namine was incredibly moody as well. Whenever he tried talking to her, she simply just stared at him, looked away, and continued reading her book. It made him wonder what he even did wrong. _What's with everyone?_

"Sora, you're just oblivious to everything, aren't you?" Riku laughed as he watched his best friend attempt to make things happier. "Silly kid."

Sora tried not to make his smile twitch violently. _Riku, I'm not freaking oblivious because I'm trying to make it_ _ **freaking**_ _better._ _Call me a silly kid again and I'll—_

Sora calmed himself down and laughed as if he actually meant it before he stabbed a piece of salad with his fork to vent out his annoyance. He started waving it in front of Riku, who gave him an amused smirk.

"I've always told you: a frown doesn't fit that handsome face of yours, so turn it upside down!"

 _Just smile, Sora, and everything will somehow work out._

~.~.~

There was only one class Namine and Roxas shared together—PE. In fact, that was how they met in freshman year too: first period PE starting with the swim unit in the dead of winter. Exactly how they met was a blur to both of them—it just happened. If Namine tried really hard enough, she could remember the exact moment they exchanged names with each other. They were both in line for a dive, and so to kill time, they both introduced themselves to each other on the cold, freezing day.

 _"It's really cold," Namine said to herself as she hugged her arms from the bitter wind._

 _"You're not the only one who's feeling it." Namine turned her head towards the person in front of her in line who responded to her personal comment and blinked at him. A fellow blonde._ _ **How cool.**_ _"We're allies in the same hell hole." Namine laughed at his dark comment before she took out a hand._

 _"Namine, your ally."_

 _"Roxas."_

 _And they shook hands before they walked further in line._

It was a simple meeting—nothing more. PE wasn't even the reason why they even got close in the first place. It was all because of Sora, who also met the blonde in his math class.

 _"Meet my new friend Roxas, Namine!" Sora cheerfully announced as he swung a happy arm around the Roxas's shoulders. "He's hella cool!"_

 _The two blondes looked at each other, recognition clear on their faces. Roxas simply smiled and took out a hand._

 _"Roxas, your ally."_

 _Namine smiled._

 _"Namine."_

Roxas's personality had something to it that immediately charmed her. Even though they barely spoke to each other, during the times that they did, her foreign attraction towards the blonde increased. He spoke very soothingly with a very strong masculine tone to it whenever they talked. Even though his calm and collected personality wasn't hard to figure out, it still remained as an enigma to Namine. There was something about the blonde male that intrigued her.

And the way they had _a lot_ in common—it actually surprised her. Namine was known to be a bookworm—something she possibly couldn't relate about to Sora—so when she spouted out random book titles she swore Roxas wouldn't know, he perfectly discussed about them with her. Despite being into the whole athletics with the track team, Roxas knew a lot more than he appeared to be.

Namine wanted to get closer to him, but sadly, there always seemed to be a wall between her and Roxas. It was impenetrable, no matter how many things she had in common with him. Even if they found topics to talk about, nothing every reached deep into the personal level. Whenever she even tried to touch upon anything like that, Roxas would just pull up his wall and steer them somewhere else.

That's why Namine stopped trying and merely admired him from afar. Fast forward two years, and she still barely knew the guy. In fact, did anyone even know about him? Did Sora know him? Xion? Axel? Riku? She did not know.

However, there was one thing she absolutely despised besides not being able to talk to her crush: not being able to communicate with her best friend.

Sora was just another work of art she dealt with.

For the past month, Namine watched as her best friend got more jumpier than usual. More nervous. More secretive. More _stressed._ More fake.

 _What is going on with him?_

Namine knew that when something troubled Sora, his smile would grow wider, his laugh would sound more real, and his attitude would be cheerier. It was ironic, actually, to view these attributes as negative, but that was Sora for you—a boy who had a deathly fear of society. No matter how much she wanted him to talk to her about his troubles, he just refused to.

Just like Roxas.

Riku. That guy used to be the shyest guy Namine has ever met—what the hell happened to him to make him such an asshole now?

Namine honestly didn't understand what was going on anymore with the people around her since no one cared to even tell her _anything._ Sora faced one way and Roxas faced another, but they both faced away from was shrouded in mystery, and it seemed like only she was lost in the murky gray clouds, trying to figure everything out on her own. Sora keeping secrets, Riku and Roxas suddenly fighting—her entire friend circle was breaking apart. Why?

 _Kairi._

For some reason, even the mysterious redhead squiggled her way into the already-complicated puzzle. Namine clutched her head in her bed as everything overwhelmed her. Sora, Roxas, Riku, Kairi—what was going on? Why was her best friend not telling her anything? She recounted all the times where he suddenly left her side to run after something and all the times he waved her off and said that "it was nothing" and that he was "fine." The most recent one was the nurse's office—just the mention of the redhead's name got him bolting away from her, leaving her forgotten, cold, and alone. She had been with him since forever, and for him to suddenly keep things from her hurt her. Even when they were best friends who-knows-when, she still felt the same impenetrable wall with Sora as well.

Roxas. At this point, she just wanted to have the ability to call him a close friend just like Sora, but it seemed like she couldn't even do that either. Overhearing Kairi's and Roxas's conversation in the nurse's office made her dumbstruck. She knew it was wrong to eavesdrop on someone's conversation, but her ears wouldn't stop listening. It was such a personal talk between them, something she never could have had with Roxas.

And as Roxas continued to calm the redhead while Sora closed the door to the nurse's office with a grim look on his face, Namine wondered where she belonged in this crazy messed up puzzle.

 _Did I suddenly become that unimportant?_ Namine went to sleep with the feelings of ugly emotions: jealousy, anger, loneliness, and sadness.

The next day, Namine never thought she would stoop so low as to hide behind the corner and listen into Kairi's and Roxas's conversation near the lockers. Right when Namine was about to say hi to the blonde, Kairi suddenly appeared out of nowhere and hesitantly approached him.

"Hey," he said as a greeting, pleasantly surprised at her approach. She never went up to him before. "What's up?"

Kairi slowly took out a piece of cloth from her pocket and handed it to him. He took it curiously and looked at the colorful yet simple pattern of what seemed to be a handkerchief. At the very bottom corner was his name beautifully stitched in the bottom.

"I sew as a hobby," Kairi explained, feeling a bit embarrassed at giving him such a thing. "It's my thanks. For everything."

"I barely even did anything."

"To me, it was a lot. So…" Roxas gave up at trying to convince her otherwise, so he just smiled at her and held up the handkerchief in his hand.

"Thanks. It's pretty," and he folded it before putting it into his pocket.

And then their conversation suddenly became too quiet for Namine to hear anymore. Based on Roxas's expression that she saw at her point of view, it seemed private. Namine pulled herself together and finally left the corner, wondering what the heck she was doing. Unbeknownst to her, Sora had been also watching the two from another corner. Feeling the same exact way as Namine, he had left as well, wondering when he became a person that eavesdropped.

"By the way…"

"Yes?"

"What you said before," Kairi felt her hands nervously, never really addressing such issues with a person before. "What do you mean?"

"Which part? I think I said a lot," Roxas said with a small smirk. Kairi laughed a little bit.

"Just mostly… everything."

"Isn't that what you're supposed to figure out yourself?" Roxas let out a hum as he thought about it, nodding to affirm his answer. "Like I said before. I don't know anything about you." Kairi nodded, agreeing with him. "So, it's up to you to interpret it the way it should be for yourself. Deep stuff, I know. Amazes me too, the things I can say."

Roxas sure was a funny guy when he wanted to be.

"Before I leave you alone, Roxas…" Kairi said once more, grabbing Roxas's full attention again. He leaned a shoulder against the lockers and crossed his arms, signaling for her to continue. "Do you know… Sora?" She wasn't looking at his face, so she didn't see the amused smile that graced his lips.

"I do, actually. Why?"

"… He's nice, right?"

"That guy can't even harm a fly," Roxas answered, already kind of knowing why she was inquiring about it. "Sora's a guy you can depend on—reliable." He tried not to laugh at how child-like Kairi was as she nodded her head confidently as she looked up at him.

"Okay. Thanks, Roxas."

"No problem." He held up a hand as a good bye as Kairi went off on her way. Glad that she was looking a lot better than last week, Roxas went off on his way as well. Because Kairi mentioned Sora, his thoughts landed on the spiky-haired ball of unlimited energy.

"Amazing as always, aren't you, Sora?"

Roxas sighed before he walked to his class and entered the gates to the pool where his PE class was. He spotted Namine on one of the bleachers and went up to her with a small smile.

"Hi, Namine."

~.~.~

Sora didn't want to feel this way, but he was very discouraged whenever he had a thought about Kairi. Call him petty, but he felt so useless after he witnessed the scene in the nurse's office. Just because she found a friend in Roxas didn't mean he should stop his advances, but it just became harder. _Roxas is a better choice in everything…_

 _Sora, don't think that way_ , he thought to himself, completely dumbfounded that he even thought about it that way. _Ugh._ He banged his head onto his table during class, wondering when he had dark thoughts like this.

Even if she wasn't the talkative type—the type that Sora had the hardest time dealing with—he oddly had fun with her. The unexpected things she would do always surprised him in a good way, and the little moments where she showed a glimmer of her true self behind her depression made him happy as well. It was the little things that he looked forward to seeing—that was probably the reason why he had tried his best to get closer to her. But now…

 _Kairi probably doesn't need me._

 _Well, that's okay._ Not all friends work out anyway. A bit sad at the thought, Sora tried to distract himself from these thoughts by paying attention in class.

Just when Sora thought he had enough internal problems on his plate with the whole situation with Riku, Roxas, and Kairi, Namine seemed to have suddenly jumped on ship as well. When he was on his way to his sixth and last class of the day, the blonde girl suddenly appeared out of nowhere, grabbed him by the arm, pushed him against the wall, and stood menacingly in front of him in the near-empty hall. She didn't say anything—she let her deadly glare do the talking.

"Hey… did you know your eyes are very lovely today?" Sora nervously said, back plastered onto the wall. The bell rang, signaling the start of the sixth period. Sora gulped.

Namine never skipped class. "There's like a unique color to it. It's as if I'm looking at a beautiful aquarium full of—okay, I'll shut up. What do you want?" Sora couldn't avoid the topic any longer when Namine suddenly slammed a hand next to his side on the wall. _What's with this role reversal?_ It was cute how Namine tried to trap him with her smaller height. _Who you trying to be here?_

"Spill," was the only thing she said.

"About what?"

"Everything?"

"You know, the universe is vast and—I don't know what you're talking about." He tried not to show his fear from the girl shorter than him as he stared at her with a poker face. "Honestly have no idea."

They had a staring contest for about seven seconds before Namine gave up and let her arm fall back to her side. Sora bit his bottom lip as he watched Namine look to the side at the ground. When she didn't say anything and just continued looking at the ground, Sora knew.

She was trying not to cry.

 _Oh no, what the fuck?_

"Namine, what's wrong?" he said, not afraid to show his concern as he bent down a little bit in an attempt to meet her eyes. "Namine, if you don't tell me what's wrong, I'll—"

"How about you tell me what's wrong!" Namine ripped herself away from Sora when he tried to grab her shoulders. Sora felt a pain when he saw Namine's teary, red eyes. Namine was a strong girl—she never cried unless something really troubled her. "You ask me what's wrong, what's wrong, what's wrong, expecting me to just _tell_ you. What about you?" When Namine's voice started to get louder, Sora put a finger to his lips and took her arm so that he could lead her away somewhere else that weren't right next to the classrooms. They settled behind the school, where there was no soul in sight.

"Namine, I'm stupid," he downright admitted. "I'm not going to get it unless you tell me exactly what you mean."

"You are stupid. You're right about something for once!" _Ouch._ Sora watched her patiently as she wiped her eyes with the back of her sleeves, but they quickly got lined with tears again. "Sora, why don't you get it?"

"Seriously, Namine. Get what? Tell me. We can talk about it together, okay?"

"Talking about it together is the number one thing our friendship doesn't have," she coldly stated, throwing off Sora's attempts at touching her to calm her down. "It's ironic really." Sora felt hurt at her words—was she saying that their friendship was bad? "I've known you since you were in freaking kindergarten, yet I don't know you either."

"Namine, are you serious?" he laughed wryly, wondering what nonsense she was talking about. "If I could lend my life to a single person in this lifetime, I would give it to you. You know everything about me; are you trying to say you don't?"

"That's right, I don't! Sora, can't you see?"

"See what?"

"This! You! I—I don't know. You—I," Namine struggled to express all her jumbled thoughts in words, only to fall short. "I'll get straight to the point. Sora, what has been going on with you for this past month?" Sora uncomfortably shuffled his feet on the ground, only fueling her anger.

"Nothing much. I'm just dealing with some… _friendship_ issues."

"And are you seriously not going to tell me more about it?" Finally realizing why Namine was so mad—kill him for being so slow—Sora shook his head and sighed.

"Namine, I don't want to burden you with my stuff. It's actually no big deal, so I'm—"

"Am I not your friend?"

"You are! I just find it… unnecessary."

"Unnecessary," she scoffed. She rolled her eyes in disbelief and had to look up at the sky to calm herself. "Did you just say talking to each other is unnecessary?"

"You're just twisting my words here."

"No, I'm not! I'm basically saying exactly what you're saying! Sora, we're friends… we're beyond friends—we're best friends. Friends talk to each other, don't they?"

For some reason, that phrase rang a very familiar sound deep within Sora. _Friends talk to each other…_ "Sora, it's not wrong to tell me what's troubling you… Friends share each other's burdens because we want to help each other out. Do you know how it feels like when I see you just frustrated and worn out—to feel useless? I want to help you—you yourself aren't a burden. Why don't you get that?" Namine's voice settled down to a gentle half-whisper, tears running down her face as she got emotional. She quickly wiped them whenever they escape out of her eyes and sniffed. "That is what friends do for each other. I thought you knew this more than anyone. And you do—you just don't apply it to yourself…"

"Namine, I'm sorry," Sora said, regret lacing every word as he pulled her over and hugged her. "I didn't mean to make you feel this way."

"I felt so lonely, watching you and Roxas and heck even Riku just doing whatever. Not telling me anything, not saying anything, excluding me from important things. I just sat there watching everything, having no clue what to do or how to react or where to fit in. It sucked a lot." Namine grabbed onto his shirt and buried her face into the soft cloth of his jacket. "You're such a jerk. Both you and Roxas."

"I'm sorry."

They stood together like that for a moment, letting the tension between them slowly disappear into the air before Namine pulled away and let out a heavy sigh. Sora laughed softly as he wiped away the remaining dampness on her cheek with his sleeve.

"I never knew you could be a crybaby like this."

"Whose fault is it?"

"Mine. Sorry."

"So are you going to tell me what the hell's been happening or not?"

"I'm not lying when I say it's actually nothing much, but…"

Sora proceeded to just let all his thoughts go out in the open and voice his troubles to Namine, who intently listened to everything. He told her about his decision to befriend Kairi, his attempts at getting closer to her, and his dejection because of his seemingly nonexistent progress. He also mentioned Riku a little bit and how it was starting to become difficult just being around him since he has changed way too much. Sora didn't say anything about Roxas though.

"I don't get it."

"Get what?"

"Why do you think you haven't had any progress?" Namine raised an eyebrow when Sora didn't answer her immediately. "Isn't this your head just thinking paranoid thoughts again?"

"Well, I don't think so," Sora defended. "It's just that, you know, I don't really know her that much… She doesn't really tell me about herself nor confide in me, so I guess I'm just not reliable enough for her? She gets uncomfortable every time I approach her now too recently. I'm just wondering what I'm doing wrong." Of course, he kept his thoughts about Roxas, again, a secret. He didn't want to sound petty in front of Namine over the blonde. "So it feels like everything I've been doing has been for nothing. Unless you think I'm wrong."

"I think you're wrong." _Wow, she's quick to shut me down, isn't she?_ "Sora, I'm seriously questioning whether or not you know the definition of what 'friend' means."

"Are you insulting me right now?"

"I'm just saying the truth. Sora, I think you're just being a little bit too harsh on yourself. Riku. I understand that he's one of your best friends, but he's not really being the best one right now, so why should you feel like it's your fault?

"And Kairi. Don't you think that's her problem, not yours?" Namine sent daggers through her eyes when Sora attempted to interrupt her. "I understand that she isn't opening up to you, but that's not your fault. You're just trying your best here, but she isn't."

"What do you mean?"

"Friends are a unit that consists of at least of two or more people," Namine tried to phrase. "There can never be any 'friends' if it's only one person involved. At least two have to be involved. Friendships cannot be born one-sidedly, Sora, and I feel like you know this the best. You're doing everything you can on your side, but Kairi isn't. That's why you shouldn't feel like everything you're doing is for nothing. It's up to Kairi to respond back to you, so don't blame yourself when she fails to take action. But remember; it's also you too. Make sure she gets to know you too, you know. If you're just trying to find everything about her and let nothing be known about you, it's just going to create a mess." Sora didn't catch how Namine was referring about her friendship with someone else. "That's how people become close—because they're willing to share personal things with each other. If you expect her to share things about herself, then you have to share things about yourself as well. Communication is everything…"

"Namine…"

"Don't even try to tell me I'm wrong. I'm not wrong. So it's up to you whether or not you take my words of advice or not." She yelped when Sora suddenly wrapped an arm around her shoulder and ruffled her hair with his other hand.

"Gosh, Namine, you always seem to know what to say, don't you?"

"Of course. Who's the one who keeps everything together?"

As the two decided to just skip the last class and go out to hang somewhere after school before his blitzball practice, Sora deeply contemplated what Namine said, wondering if what she said truly was right. Had he really done his best? His mind kept going to Roxas and how he was able to connect with Kairi in less than one freaking day, but he shook that thought away.

 _Maybe Namine's right. Maybe all this is just my paranoid thinking._

~.~.~

 _Nothing's holding you back except yourself._

Kairi believed that she finally understood what Roxas meant after much thought and consideration. She sat up from her bed, looked at herself at her little mirror on her desk, and put her hands on her hips as she stared outside her window where the night shined with the twinkling stars. She then directed her eyes towards all the things Sora mysteriously wrote for her before she took off the pins that held them in place and gathered them all on the table. She then let out a heavy breath.

 _It's time for me to find my path._

Kairi took off her glasses and threw them into the trash bin. Taking off her pony tail, she walked over to her closet and opened it up to view all of her sweaters. Wrapping all of it in her arms, she took all of it out of her closet and threw it on her bed. There, she sorted all of them neatly into a cardboard box, sealing it and putting it underneath her bed when she was done. Taking all the hangers that she collected, she began to hang up clothes she never thought she would ever wear again.

 _I don't want to live like this anymore._

~.~.~

"Roxas, we missed you!" Sora whined as he tried to hug him. However, Roxas wasn't having any of it as he pushed the spiky-haired boy away with a hand. He tried to maximize as much space as possible between him and Sora as he laughed.

"Please don't touch me, you doofus."

"When did you ever call me a doofus!" Sora gasped, hand over his heart as he feigned hurt. He then shot a mock glare at Namine, who simply looked away. "You're learning Namine's ways on how to deal with me, aren't you?"

"He's not learning anything. It's just you," she answered. "You're on your own, dude."

It seemed like the only time Sora and Namine could hang out with Roxas was during break and after school for a bit before sports practice called for them. Roxas and Riku still hadn't made up yet, and both Sora and Namine were clueless on why they fought in the first place. Both of them didn't care to elaborate. Sora wasn't too clueless though. He could kind of guess why Roxas was angry at Riku—even Riku got him angry nowadays, and it was hard to get Sora angry.

 _Sigh, what do I do with Riku…_

Sora decided to deal with the problem later, when the time was right. He didn't want to fight with his best friend yet. Not now. Not yet.

"It's a Friday, guys. We gotta do something on Fridays together. It's tradition!" Sora encouraged. "We can't break tradition now, can we?" _Well, we're already breaking the tradition without Riku._

 _But whatever._

"I'm hanging out with Xion and Axel this weekend," Roxas explained. "I'm not sure if you guys would like to join though." Roxas only said that because he knew Sora and Namine weren't that close to them. They never had the chance to meet them often either. Sora and Namine exchanged a look before shrugging.

"Depends on what you're doing."

"Fooling around at my house. What do you think?"

"Sounds about right. Hey, I'll go. I feel like me and Axel could be real good friends."

"Oh geez," Namine groaned, thinking about the shenanigans Sora could do with Axel. "Please don't."

"Tomorrow at three then," Roxas chuckled, putting away his books before he went to track practice. "Park your car right this time, Sora. My dad literally got triggered by your horrible parking from last time."

" _Pfft_ , whatever," Sora said, sticking his tongue out at Roxas. Roxas merely rolled his eyes. He was about to give them a wave good bye and turn around to go, but he didn't when he saw someone coming from behind Sora and Namine. When he recognized who it was, he tried not to break his cool expression.

"Hey, Sora, I think you got a visitor. Namine, come with me for a sec." Namine tried not to widen her eyes to the size of spaceships when Roxas grabbed her hand and pulled her away around a corner, leaving Sora staring at the place where they disappeared to.

"What the heck, guys?" _Did they just fucking leave me like that?_ He understood that both of them had a thing for each other, but to just leave him like that was just too—

"Sora."

He turned around at the call of his name, able to recognize that voice from a mile away. He swore his breath was taken away by some unimaginable force when his eyes took in the sight that beheld him.

"Kairi?"

Sora had to blink his eyes extra hard to make sure the school lights weren't feeding him hallucinations or something. He nearly dropped his book too because of his hand unconsciously getting looser.

"Hi," she said shyly, very conscious at the way he was looking at her.

The first thing Sora noticed was how she literally chopped off her hair by a good foot. Her red, straight hair now hung slightly above her shoulders—no longer was it trapped in her infamous tight ponytail.

The second thing that he noticed was what she was wearing. No, it wasn't a thick turtleneck or a plain long-sleeved shirt or sweatpants or a sweater or _whatever_. Adorned in blue skinny jeans and a gray cardigan over a plain white T-shirt, Kairi completely changed her look that matched what other girls her age wore. Small earrings hung on her earlobes as well, twinkling underneath the lights of the school hallway.

The third and final thing he noticed was the lack of glasses sitting on her nose. Finally, she stopped wearing those fake lenses that bothered the hell out of him whenever he saw her. Now, he could see her unnaturally bright blue eyes without plastic shielding it.

"Kairi… you look… _different._ " If his brain was working correctly, he would've just directly complimented her and called her cute, but for some reason, he felt too embarrassed to say such a thing. "You surprised me."

"Sorry." Kairi looked a bit disappointed at his reaction, which he quickly tried to dispel.

"It's a good different. Really."

He had to look away from her temporarily and focus on her hair or something because looking directly at her face made him feel all weird.

"Sora, I have something for you," she said, giving a very small smile. Sora blinked at her and tilted his head to the side by a bit.

"You do? What is it?" Sora watched as she swung her backpack over to the front so that she could open the zip and take out an envelope. She looked at it for a moment before she turned it around and stretched it out towards Sora. He slowly took it out of her hands as he curiously examined it by flipping it to the back and front. Having no clue what it could've been, Sora went ahead and opened it in front of her.

The last thing he expected to see were the notes and messages he wrote for her from way back before they even knew each other. The moment he recognized them, his eyes immediately shot up to look at her in astonishment. This time, she had a genuine smile on her face.

"How did you know?" he asked, stupefied as he examined each and every piece of paper to check if he put his name on any of them—he didn't. His amazement quickly turned to defeated laughter as he put everything back in the envelope and looked at her once more. "You got me, Kairi. You got me." He then directed his eyes at the ceiling lights and let out a low whistle as he felt the envelope. "Wow."

"I was wondering who it was for a very long time," Kairi confessed.

"My mystery moment just ended very anti-climatically, didn't it?" Sora joked as he tossed the envelope back and forth in his hands, a little bit too awestruck to even form the words he wanted to say. "I got exposed. You caught me red-handed. So, what do you want to do now?" He looked at her expectantly as he bit his bottom lip, already having a good feeling about where things were going. "Are you disappointed that it was me?"

"Not at all. I'm glad I found out it was you," Kairi admitted. "Really glad." Sora grinned.

"And I'm glad I got found out by you." He looked at the envelope in his hands before he handed it back to her. Kairi gladly took it back within her possessions. "I never thought that you would. Geez, I never thought you would keep them for this long either."

The two of them fell into silence, but this time, it was a more comfortable silence. Sora felt his heart beat faster as he stood there with Kairi, smiling like he truly meant it—he did mean it. Kairi returned the look before she said what she wanted to say for the longest time.

"Thank you, Sora."

"I didn't do anything."

"But you did everything," Kairi fumbled with her fingers, nervous to say the next few words. "I want to talk with you more, even though I can be really shy sometimes."

"And that's okay," Sora assured softly.

"Let's talk more," the both of them said simultaneously.

"Because friends talk to each other."

* * *

I guess I haven't apologized for them yet, so I'll apologize for them now: SORRY FOR ALL THE TYPOS. Honestly, I do "reread" it sometimes before I post, but a few little things always bypass my security xD

Here's another _veeeery_ quick update. It's because I have nothing to do in my life tbh. Either all my friends are already back in school or all of them are busy with work or something. My family is also in another country somewhere in the east (wow, it's a lonely summer vacation), so I've just been at home rotting away doing nothing. Because I've been doing nothing, I've just been writing while taking a few breaks by gaming here and there XD

Another reason why I wrote this chapter really fast was because the other chapter had like a crap ton of turmoil and as a fellow reader like all of you, I know how ending things on a turmoil is just so UGHHH! I also don't like turmoil as a writer, so I wrote this chapter to relieve some of the tension that i built XD Ofc, this chapter's character spotlight was on Namine! Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter.

From this chapter onwards, I can finally write Kairi's character in a more relaxed way. It was hard for me to write her as a passive character from the very beginning because I also want her to have a more active role, so be on the look out!


	10. Chapter 10

Sora sat in his car wondering if he should do what he was thinking about doing. He wasn't quite sure whether or not it would be beyond the boundaries and or past the limit, but he doubted it would be too bad. Seeing no real harm in it, Sora just went for it and drove towards Kairi's house.

Kairi was in the middle of doing her homework when her phone rang, signaling a text message. Picking it up, she curiously opened it.

 _I'm sorry, my feet magically got me here again :)_

Kairi widened her eyes at the message and immediately started to get herself looking presentable. _Not again!_ Sora didn't even have to explain fully what he meant for Kairi to understand what was going on. She didn't know why Sora came to her house unannounced for the second time—was it too hard to ask and let her know beforehand?

Glad that her father was out at work at this time, she didn't have to worry about leaving the house and telling him. Kairi brushed her hair and put some force behind it, forgetting that her long hair was no longer there. Her brush swiftly slipped past her short hair, accidentally hitting her shoulder painfully in the process. It had been only three days since she cut her hair; she still had a while to get used to it.

Slipping a plain black T-shirt over her head, Kairi then swung her maroon jacket over her shoulders and pushed her arms through the sleeves. She changed her pajama pants into her black leggings before she grabbed her phone and went out the door to her room. Before she left the house, she went to her bathroom and looked at herself in her mirror to make sure she looked okay.

Kairi also couldn't get used to how differently she looked after she decided to get rid of her dreary appearance once and for all. Letting her hair down and cut short did miraculous differences. She looked a lot younger and bright. Without the glasses, her blue eyes shined against the lights of the bathroom, something Kairi never knew her eyes could do.

Feeling that she looked decent enough, Kairi rushed down the stairs and opened her front door. Surely, there in front of her parkway was Sora in his car, waiting for her to come out. Nervously putting her feet into her shoes, Kairi slowed herself down to a walk as she approached his car. At the sight of her, Sora unlocked the doors to his car.

"Hello," he said amiably as Kairi tentatively went inside his car for the third time. Yes, she kept count. He took in her appearance and smiled. "You look nice today."

"Oh. Um, thank you very much," Kairi responded quietly, finding herself never ever getting used to the nice things Sora said to her. By now, Kairi concluded that Sora wasn't afraid to say such things out loud, embarrassment or no embarrassment. He was just that forward and direct. Finding that very admirable about Sora, Kairi made a note to strive to be like him. _Be direct and honest with my thoughts. Yes, yes._

"I hope you weren't busy today. I should've asked you before I came again. Sorry about that," Sora apologized, but he didn't seem too apologetic with the slightly mischievous look he gave her. Kairi say anything more than an "it's okay" before he drove to who-knows-where. A part of her wondered if it was the animal shelter again, but she had to think again when they suddenly took a turn and entered a neighborhood.

"Where are we going?" Kairi asked, unable to contain her question anymore.

"Oh crap, I didn't say where. Sorry. We're going to Roxas's house."

"Roxas?" Kairi frowned and instantly felt uncomfortable. Going to the house of someone she barely knew did not sit well with her. Heck, a house itself didn't make her feel great. "Did he invite me?"

"No, but it's okay. He'll probably be okay with it." That didn't make Kairi feel any better either. When they arrived and stopped at a very nice two-story house, Kairi almost refused to exit out of his car. A little part of her didn't like how Sora didn't tell her any of this, but another part of her kind of understood why he didn't. If he did, she probably wouldn't have exited her own house.

Sora came out from his side and looped around his car to go over to Kairi's side. Opening the door for her, he stooped down to make eye contact with her and gave her an assuring look. "It's going to be okay. They're all nice people. You're going to have fun. Swear." He made room for her to step out. "C'mon."

Kairi slowly got out of Sora's car. He closed the door and locked it before he went forward towards the front door. Kairi followed him, wondering how she was going to act the moment she saw other people.

"Hey, Sor—okay, you're here too, Kairi. What a surprise," Roxas greeted, eyes widened a bit when he saw Kairi behind Sora. It wore away quickly though as he made more room for the two of them to step in. "Come on in. We got a lot of snacks, so make yourselves at ho—"

"Xion! Put that knife down. I swear—you can't cook to save anyone's life!" an unfamiliar voice sounded in the kitchen. "Who are you trying to prove here? You'll kill them before they can judge!"

"Axel, just shut up!"

Roxas cleared his throat.

"Um. Make yourselves at home."

"This is like my third home," Sora joked as he stepped right on in. "Right after Namine's." Kairi followed in after Sora, but accidentally brushed against Roxas's shoulder in the process—the front door didn't really have much space.

"Sorry," Roxas immediately said as he plastered himself against the wall. Kairi already had her hand over the side of her arm that contacted his. She could already feel the burn from just that one small touch.

"It's—it's okay," she managed to stutter out, telling her mind to just calm down. A spike of anxiety hit her, but she quickly controlled it with two deep breaths. "I'm okay."

"Cool," he said before he signaled her to go in and closing the door. Kairi took small steps into his house. It had a nice smell to it, something she couldn't quite specifically name. Immediately after entering, to her left was a very large living room. A piano sat by the window while the chimney was right across from it on the other side. A large fish tank sat in the center of the living room next to the TV, water illuminated with the blue light. Various pictures were hung up the wall along with other cute decorations such as wreaths and lights.

"My mom was a decorator," Roxas explained, noticing how Kairi was observing every inch of his home. "She had an artistic eye."

"I see," Kairi said softly, appreciating the layout of things.

"Sora! You're he—oh, hi, Kairi," Namine came out from the kitchen, eyes landing on the redhead in surprise just like how Roxas did moments before. Kairi gave an awkward wave, wondering why Sora had to make her life slightly bit harder. Roxas left her side and went to the kitchen where strange chopping noises were being made. He had his hands on Namine's shoulders to jokingly steer her away from the path before he disappeared behind the wall.

"What the hell are Xion and Axel doing?" Sora laughed as he tried to take a peek at the kitchen. "That doesn't sound yummy."

Namine sighed. "They're trying to make vegetable stew for Roxas's dad since he came down with a flu, but…"

"Xion, I don't think potatoes should be that big in soup," Roxas's voice could be heard. Namine grimaced.

"I don't think it's working out so well right now."

"Are any of us even cooks?" Sora chuckled as he shoved Namine to the side so that he could squeeze into the kitchen to see the mess. "God damn, Xion, who are you trying to feed here? Alligators?" Kairi tried not to laugh as everyone crowded around the girl named Xion, who definitely wasn't appreciating any of their comments at the moment.

"Why is everyone being so mean to me?" Xion whined. Curious, Kairi looked over Namine's head to see Xion just throw her knife down onto the chopping board. "Y'all seem to know what's up. How about you do it then, huh?"

"Leave it to me," Axel said, rolling up his sleeves. "I'll show you what a true cook is."

"How about," Roxas quickly took the knife away from the flamehead, "you let me do the cooking while you have fun in the living room, m'kay?" Axel and Xion gave him the pouty faces before they followed his request and went off to the living room. Catching sight of Kairi, they went over to her, something she did not want.

"Who is this?" Axel jokingly peered at her face closely, not recognizing her at all. Kairi uncomfortably took a step back. Xion smacked Axel back and gave a hand out towards Kairi.

"I'm Xion. Nice to meet you," she said with a strong smile. Kairi looked at her hand, finding it odd how she had been introducing herself multiple times this month ever since she met Sora.

"Kairi," she simply said, shaking her hand loosely before taking her hand back to her chest. Axel stepped forward again, making Kairi step backwards once more.

"You can be my sister. The red hair, you know? Axel! Nice to meet you." When he was about to get closer to her to exchange a handshake, Sora came up and sliced a hand in the air between them, blocking Axel from getting closer.

"She's obviously uncomfortable," Sora joked, knowing Axel wouldn't take offense. "Back off."

"Fine, fine. She your girl or something, Sora?"

" _Pfft_ , you'll catch me dead with a girlfriend. Everyone calls me the nice guy, but never boyfriend material. It's a sad life I live indeed."

"Sora, that is so not true," Roxas said from the kitchen, overhearing everything they were saying. "I swear there are people who have secret crushes on you. They just don't say anything because everyone knows you're secretly dating Namine over here." Namine dropped her jaw on the ground while Sora choked on his saliva.

"I don't know what I have to do for you to get that ridiculous idea out of your head," Sora exasperated, going over to Namine to push his elbow down on her head and causing her to bend her knees. "I'll have you know that this shorty has someone she li—"

"Wow, I really want to play with your dog right now. Can I?" Namine interrupted, pinching Sora from behind as she threw his elbow off her head. Roxas gave the duo a weird look before laughing.

"Knock yourself out. Make sure he doesn't bring branches inside the house though." Kairi watched as Sora and Namine gave each other death glares before Namine went over to the sliding door that led to the backyard. As everyone happily interacted with each other, Kairi had no idea where she fit into all of this. Everyone already knew each other here—what would she even say to contribute?

Feeling a bit lonely, Kairi went over to the piano in the living room and sat down on the bench. She carefully lifted the hood and marveled at the extraordinarily clean white and black keys. Her fingers glossed over them, feeling the smooth plastic surface of the keys. She used to play when she was younger, credits to her mother who was a very talented pianist back in her day. However, after the accident, Kairi never really touched the piano ever again.

"Legit the only thing I can play is Chopsticks," Sora's voice suddenly sounded from next to her. She turned half of her body around to look at him leaning a hand against the piano as he looked at the keys. "These two fingers," he held up both his left and right index fingers, "are magic." Kairi smiled at his silliness.

"Why only Chopsticks?" Kairi inquired. Sora put the side of his hand next to his mouth.

"Don't tell anyone, but I just learned it to impress the girl I liked back in middle school. It was anything but impressive, but you gotta give me some credit for trying," Sora grinned, happy to earn a small laugh from Kairi.

Kairi had to think about it for a little bit before she decided to scoot over on the bench. She shyly patted the empty spot next to her, only to realize how little space there was on it when Sora actually sat down. Only a small space separated them between their shoulders as they sat side-by-side, making Kairi extremely conscious. Kairi scooted over so much that half her bottom was already off of the other side of the bench. However, for some reason, despite the close distance, Kairi didn't feel as wary as before. Sora didn't seem to notice as he tried to remember where to put his two fingers on the piano.

"Man, I probably look like an idiot right now because this is not how you play the piano," Sora laughed as he tried to find the right interval, only to make some gross-sounding chord.

"Um, I think your left hand goes on this one," Kairi suggested, pointing a finger to a white key. Sora tried it out, satisfied that it was the sound he was looking for. He tested it a few more times until muscle memory kicked in. Before he knew it, he had the basics of Chopsticks back in mind.

"It's all coming back," Sora said proudly as he clumsily played a few notes. Kairi shortly joined in as she played on the left side. She shocked Sora when she started to play the more complicated part of Chopsticks. Together, they played the song, both laughing along the way when Sora hit the wrong key to produce something unpleasant. "Wait, I swear I had it! Oh my gosh, this sounds like actual shit." Sora didn't realize how he cursed as he struggled to find the right note.

"No, you keep playing the wrong note next to it," Kairi giggled as she continued to point to him the right note. They both tried again, but when it started to get to the harder part, Sora just started to play random stuff on the piano, causing Kairi to just burst out laughing.

"I'm not musically talented, I'm sorry!" Sora exclaimed, glad that Kairi finally broke her mask a little bit. He liked watching her laugh—it was oddly calming. "But it seems like you know how to play very well. When did you start playing?"

"When I was young. Maybe when I was around five?" Kairi answered, returning her hands back to her lap. "It's been a while since I touched the piano though."

"Sounds pretty good despite it being a while," Sora complimented. Kairi tucked a few strands of hair behind her ear, blushing a bit.

"Thank you."

When Sora turned his head to look at her, he finally realized how close they were on the little bench. He could clearly see the thousands of silky red strands on her head as it hung above her shoulders. If Sora just nudged himself to the left a little bit, their shoulders would've bumped. He had no idea why Kairi didn't completely remove herself away from him—she usually would whenever they were this close—but he didn't think about it too much. He strangely kind of liked it. It made him feel weirdly fuzzy.

"Who was the one who played good and who was the one who played not-so-good?" Namine asked jokingly as she came up to them. "I can kind of make a guess though."

"You're always trying to find a way to grill me like chicken on a stick," Sora whined. "Be a good friend and tell me I play good even if I sound like I'm punching the piano."

Kairi wanted to leave the two alone to talk. She noticed how even when she was right next to Sora, not once did Namine look at her. Her eyes solely remained on Sora's, never sparing Kairi a glance. It was as if Kairi was just part of the thin air around them. Feeling that she was unwanted, Kairi simply stood up from the piano bench and wandered away to the kitchen where Roxas was still cooking. From the corner, Kairi could see Xion and Axel playing with the dog near the backyard entrance.

"Finding nothing to do?" Roxas asked when he spotted her figure. Kairi gave him a small smile, not wanting to respond using words. "There's nothing much to do here anyway, so I don't blame you."

"No. I just feel slightly… uncomfortable," Kairi confessed.

"Why? Because you don't know anyone? They're all nice, don't worry." Kairi's mind wandered back to Namine, not really believing Roxas's words completely, but remained silent anyway. Seeing how awkward and out of place Kairi looked, Roxas tried to help her by signaling towards all the stuff he had left to cut for the soup. "Want to help me out?"

"Um, okay." Roxas left his station at the chopping board to go over to the huge pot of broth, letting Kairi take over the cutting of the vegetables. She tested the knife handle in her hand before she went to work, surprising Roxas by how fast and uniformly she cut them.

"Do you cook at home?" he asked.

"I do," Kairi quickly chopped the carrots into thin slices, "For my dad and I." Roxas definitely didn't miss how she didn't mention anything about a mom, but he didn't ask.

As Kairi helped Roxas with the mechanical things, she couldn't help but notice how there were small pictures of their family everywhere she went in the house. One was sitting right next to her in the corner too in the kitchen, which was an odd place to put a framed picture. She stopped her chopping to examine it, and that was when Roxas started to explain.

"Putting pictures of my mom around the house makes us feel like she's still there, so. It's a bit weird, but it helps," Roxas said from behind her, seeing how she was looking at the oddly placed picture. It was a photo of them in Twilight Town, where they probably visited for vacation. The picture was taken at the infamous train station of Twilight Town known for their fast conducting. "No one has ever questioned it though. Family pictures are unquestionable."

"It doesn't… hurt to have her pictures everywhere?" Kairi asked. Normally, she wouldn't ask that type of sensitive and private question, but her curiosity needed to be quenched. She also used to have pictures of her mother and the family around the house, but she had to take them down herself because she didn't want it to cause her father too much pain. For him, seeing a picture of his wife always reminded him of how she was no longer in this world.

"It was hard at first," Roxas admitted, "But why would I want to erase my mom from this house? Remembering her should be the least I could do."

"Ah, I see…" Roxas and his dad were very different from Kairi and her dad. It made Kairi a bit jealous. She looked at another picture by the kitchen table. Seeing her gaze, he went over to pick it up so that he could show her closer. It was a photo of them at what seemed to be a BBQ party as their house. The three of them posed underneath a banner that said "Happy 6th Birthday" as the parents carried the little Roxas together in their arms.

"I don't want people to see my hideous photos of when I was younger, but it's all we have, so," he joked, settling it back down on the table. Kairi shook her head.

"It's happy. This house."

Roxas let out a lighthearted laugh.

"Thanks."

 _Sssss!_

"The pot!" Kairi yelped, pointing to the over-boiling pot of soup. Roxas quickly turned off the stove and moved the pot to another place, grimacing as he saw the spilled contents all around the stove.

"This is what happens when I get distracted," Roxas muttered as he took a towel and wiped around the hot area. "I don't pay attention."

"It's okay, it happens to me too."

"Wow, Kairi, you know how to cook too?" Sora's voice unexpectedly entered the kitchen. The blond and redhead turned their heads to face the brunet who grinned as he watched all the action happen. "You know how to do everything. You're perfect."

"That's not true," Kairi said, already feeling the embarrassment rising up her neck. Sora just kept saying things she wasn't used to. "It's a little thing."

"Tell Xion it's a little thing."

"You think I don't have ears, don't you?" Xion hissed, popping up from beside him. Roxas raised an eyebrow at the two, pleasantly surprised that Sora and Xion were already getting along despite not knowing each other that well. This was Sora he was talking about anyway.

"Burn her, Sora, burn her!" Axel cackled as he popped up at the kitchen as well. Namine followed behind. All four seemed to have run out of things to do for them to invade the kitchen again.

"I told you my house was boring, but no, you guys insisted to come here," Roxas said with a roll of his eyes as he got a spoonful of soup and handed it to Kairi. She looked at it weirdly, wondering what he wanted her to do with it. "We should go somewhere else besides staying holed up in here." When he didn't feel the spoon getting taken away, he looked over at her questionably. Realizing what he wanted her to do, she hesitantly took the spoon out of his hand and tasted it.

"It's fine," she said awkwardly, putting the spoon back into the sink.

"Cool." Roxas turned off the stove again and half-closed the pot with a lid. Kairi didn't notice how Namine was staring at her with an intense gaze as she attempted to help Roxas wash the dishes, but he shooed her away with a hand. "Sora, go show her around or something. This house is uselessly big. Don't," he narrowed his eyes when he saw Sora's light bulb light up above his head, "go inside my room."

"Oh ho ho, we won't, sir. Kairi, come with me!"

"Wait, it's okay, I don't want to intru—"

"Let's go upstairs!" Sora had already run off towards the stairs, leaving Kairi to have no choice but to follow him. She didn't want to go anywhere without him since she didn't know anyone here. Quickly climbing up the stairs, Kairi spiraled around until she reached the second-floor halls.

The plain white walls were heavily decorated with more pictures. This time, it wasn't just photos of Roxas's mother. There were also pictures that showed Roxas in high school. One she noted was of him holding up a very large trophy with his team carrying him, smiles contagious as they won championships. Others showed him and his dad having some quality time together with friends, such as fishing. It indeed was a very homey house.

"Come over here, Kairi," Sora urged as he motioned towards a direction with his hand. Kairi found it tiring trying to catch up to Sora's fast pace. First, she got dragged to Roxas's house unwillingly, uncomfortably stood in the presence of people she didn't know, got into a silent feud with his blonde friend, found herself cooking in an unknown person's house, and now, she was just invading Roxas's entire household. Sora didn't seem to notice her extreme reluctance as she entered the room he wanted her to enter.

"What room is this?" Kairi asked, looking around. She frowned. A bed with blue sheets. Trophies and medals put on shelves. A backpack by the desk filled with notebooks. The one place Roxas told them not to go into.

"Roxas's room," Sora answered cheekily as he flopped onto the blond's bed. Kairi this time refused to take another step inside. "Don't be afraid. He's just kidding when he said this place is off-limits. Nothing in this house is really off-limits besides, duh, his parent's room."

"You must be very close friends with Roxas," Kairi commented as she still refused to go inside any further. Sora gave a thumbs up as he leaned his back against the wall as his legs dangled off the edge of Roxas's bed.

"We can say that, sure," Sora chuckled. "Sorry, there isn't much to tour around here, but Roxas didn't actually mean to take you on a tour." Kairi raised both her eyebrows, not sure what Sora was hinting at. When he saw her confused expression, he rolled his eyes jokingly. "Roxas knew you were uncomfortable, so he probably wanted to give you a chance to get away from it."

"Really?" Kairi didn't know Roxas could be that observant.

"This is Roxas we're talking about. I'm pretty sure he knows how boring his house is. There's no reason for a tour. Come, sit. It's okay, he won't mind. We'll chill here for a while until you feel more comfortable. Let's talk. It'll be Sora and Kairi's thirty minutes."

For some reason, Kairi doubted she could ever say no to Sora if he asked so nicely. Mentally apologizing to Roxas for intruding into his room, Kairi sat on the edge of Roxas's bed. Seeing how she won't go any further, Sora scooted so that they could be at the same level.

"I know I suddenly put you in an uncomfortable situation, but I just want you to get used to it. Make new friends," Sora apologized. "I hope you're not feeling too horrible."

"I'm okay," Kairi said, not wanting Sora to feel bad. She knew he was just trying to get her to go out more. "Your friends seem nice. I just don't know them too well. They don't really seem comfortable with me either…" Again, she thought about Namine. Sora shook his head.

"You're fine. They're probably not used to you either. They're good people, so don't worry about it. I'm uncomfortable too. I don't really know Xion and Axel well."

"Lie," Kairi blurted out without thinking. Sora didn't expect her unexpected reaction and laughed.

"Lie? I swear I'm not lying."

"But you get along with them so well…" Sora shrugged at this.

"I mean, it's not like we hate each other or anything. Roxas's friends are cool—we just don't have opportunities to hang around the same place though, since Roxas actually has two friend groups. Us and his Organization."

"Organization?"

"They're just trying to be cool, having a group name and all," Sora mocked disgust, earning a giggle from Kairi. "Xion and Axel are also from the Organization, so that's why they know each other. Oops, I kind of left Namine down there, since she isn't really close to the Organization either, but I'm sure Roxas will make her comfortable somehow. He's a good host."

"Yeah, he's nice," Kairi agreed. She really appreciated how he treated her normally and talked to her normally. "And I think you're just naturally a friend guy."

"Thanks, I get that a lot."

The two fell into silence, but the two already got used to it enough to not feel as awkward anymore. Kairi looked around Roxas's neat room and felt strange to be in a boy's room. Heck, she was sitting next to a boy too. She hadn't realized it before, but she was slowly getting used to talking and being near males in general. If she looked back at her old self, even hearing a boy's voice shook her from the inside. Now, she was able to hold decent conversations with them, especially with Sora.

If Kairi could name only one reason for this phenomenon, she would have to say that Sora was slowly gaining her trust. Sora wouldn't do anything to harm her—that was the only thing that allowed her to move forward.

Kairi was too busy looking around Roxas's room to notice the cellar spider that was creeping up the blankets and entering the bed. She only did when she felt a weird ticklish feeling on her hand. Looking over at what was making it feel that way, she was not afraid to scream when she saw the huge yet harmless spider touch its long legs on her hand.

"Kairi, what's wrong?" Before he could even say anymore, Sora felt her push her back against the side of his body as she tried to get away from the spider. She wildly flung her hands to make sure it was completely off of her and also made sure to kick at the blankets as a natural response.

"I hate spiders, oh my gosh, it's here somewhere!" she yelled as she shuddered and wiped her hands against each other repeatedly. Kairi only snapped out of her frenzy when she felt hands squeeze her shoulders.

"Kairi, it's okay," Sora whispered, completely contrasting against her loud voice that could probably be heard from downstairs as well. "I don't see it anymore. You probably crushed its pitiful soul."

It was at that moment that Kairi realized what position she was in with Sora. She squished Sora right against the back of the bedframe while her back was against his chest during her attempt to create distance between her and the spider. His hands were on his shoulders trying to calm her. Kairi didn't think twice and quickly got away from him, but fell off the bed in the process. She painfully fell to the floor, earning a concerned Sora coming over to her side. If this was under normal circumstances, Sora would've laughed at Kairi's epic fall to the floor.

"I-I'm okay," she stuttered, feeling the places where Sora touched her. For some reason, it didn't burn like how it did when she accidentally bumped into Roxas, but she still felt antsy and jittery just thinking about it. The little bubble of anxiety still rose from her stomach from inside, but she was able to calm it down when she saw Sora's look of regret.

"Sorry."

"I'm actually o-okay," she assured, sitting up from the hard-wooden floor. Sora saw the spider that caused her so much panic and slapped it with one of Roxas's textbook that was on the ground. He beat the floor with it two times to make sure it was completely dead before he tossed the book aside.

"Roxas will have a dead spidery friend when he uses that math book," Sora said with a grimace. He had hoped that that joke would make her laugh and make her forget about what just happened, and it did. She stared at the flat and squished spider's body on his textbook and burst into chuckles as she relaxed herself and smiled.

"Sorry."

"You're good. Is your butt feeling okay?"

"Yeah."

"You should let me see that side of you more often," Sora chuckled, giving her an eye-smile. "It's refreshing." Kairi let out a hum in question.

"What are you talking about?"

"'I hate spiders, oh my gosh!'" Sora imitated her voice too, making her feel so embarrassed. She turned red on the spot. "That was some attitude I heard there! I loved it. I'm excited to learn more about the things you hate."

"Please don't," Kairi requested politely, making Sora stick his tongue out at her. Kairi fixed her hair and tried to make it all neat again, making his attention shift to it. Her red hair. He really liked it.

"You're pretty."

Kairi blinked at him. Sora simply let out an "oops" as if not intending to let that slip out of his mouth at all, but it didn't seem like he regretted it as he smiled at her. Kairi felt bad that she never said anything nice about him in return. Her eyes scanned his profile quickly before she said something she thought sounded so stupid.

"I like your shirt."

It was Sora's turn to blink at her. His eyes looked down to remind himself what he was wearing: a simple navy-blue long-sleeved shirt that fit his body very well. However, there wasn't anything special to it—it was just a plain shirt. There weren't any words are designs on it. Just a simple plain long-sleeve.

"Um, thank you," he snickered, knowing how much effort it took for her to even say that. Kairi covered her face with her hands, embarrassment just choking her like water now. She allowed her side to fall back to the floor as she covered her face, wondering how Sora could be so smooth in saying that type of things.

She heard a thud next to her. Kairi opened her eyes to discover herself lying on the floor face-to-face with Sora. His blue eyes twinkled kindly as he joined her little sprawl on the floor, hair brushing against the floor. Feeling that she might feel uncomfortable with him just staring at her, he closed his eyes, hiding away their brilliance.

"Roxas's room smells nice for a guy," he muttered. "Doesn't smell like sweaty socks like others. It makes me sleepy. Can smells make you sleepy?"

"Maybe," Kairi said softly, observing his features closely while his eyes stayed closed. His clear sun-kissed skin contrasted against her pale one. His nose stood tall while his eyelashes hung a bit longer than most guys. His spiky locks fell over his eyes gently, caressing the bridge of his nose and his eyebrows. Kairi never found a boy attractive before, but Sora might be a first.

Kairi didn't know what came over her, but she stretched out a hand towards the side of his face, curious about how soft his skin would feel like. Her heart rummaged against her ribcage—she didn't even know if it was out of anxiety or excitement at this point. Slowly, her fingers glided over his cheek, barely touching the surface of it. If Sora felt it, he didn't show any indication that he did. His eyes remained closed and unmoving.

When her hand softly cupped the side of his face, she knew he felt it, but he still didn't open his eyes. Rather, he let her do whatever she wanted without making her feel conscious with his stare. Kairi could barely breathe as her heart hammered like a drum in a rock band. Her chest felt full as the sparks erupted from her stomach and invaded her entire body, clouding her mind as she traced her fingers on his cheek.

 _What are you doing, Kairi?_ she thought to herself.

"You're making me go crazy," Sora finally said, eyes slowly opening to look at her. His eyes swam with an unknown emotion as she took her hand away the moment she heard his low voice.

"I'm sorr—"

"So did you guys run out of things to do and decided to just lay on the ground for God knows why?"

The two of them instantly scrambled to their feet when they heard Roxas's amused voice by the door.

"There was a spider," the both of them said at the same time, not making Roxas's suspicion any better.

"A spider," the blond deadpanned. Sora pointed to the math textbook on the ground. Roxas had to peer closely at it before groaning.

"Not the textbook, man, not the textbook." Roxas took a tissue from the box sitting on his desk and wiped the dead spider off his textbook before throwing it into the trashcan, shaking his head in disapproval. "And what's with my horribly messed up bed over here? Did you guys have like a tussle or something?"

"There was a spider," the both of them said at the same time once more. Roxas stared at the two as if they were conjoined twins before he closed his eyes and sighed.

"We're watching a movie right now. Feel free to join us—or not." Before Sora could even protest about what he meant about that, Roxas was already out of his room and down the stairs.

"We should get going. I'm going to call outs if it's a horror movie though," Sora chuckled, voice returning back to normal, but Kairi could still hear the nervousness behind it. "Let's go."

"…okay."

The two climbed down the stairs to meet everyone in the living room for a movie. However, during the entire movie, both Kairi and Sora couldn't stop thinking about what transpired between them.

 _This is a strange friendship._

* * *

I need sleep, so here's an update XD

Always appreciating my readers immensely. Always remember that!

EDIT: I JUST SHAT MY PANTS WATCHING THE KH3 TRAILER SOMEONE RESUSCITATE ME HOLY FUCK SOMEONE BRING ME BACK TO LIFE RIGHT NOW


	11. Chapter 11

"It's time for the all-time fun," Axel whipped out a water bottle and placed it in the center of the circle of friends, "It's time where friendships can both be born and broken."

"Bye guys, I think it's time for me to go. It's, uh, getting a little bit late." Sora made the notion to stand up as he propped himself up with his hands, but Xion pulled him back down by his sleeve.

"Naw, bro, you're staying right here, all night long," she said with narrowed eyes, shaking her head by the slightest to tell him that he was not going to leave just yet. Sora found out that Xion sure could hold a grudge—she still wouldn't let him off the hook about his comments on her cooking. "The night is still young."

"Haha, you're funny. I'm driving Kairi home and she has a curf—"

"Haha," Roxas mocked, "What great timing. She _just_ told me how she doesn't really have a curfew." Sora shot Kairi a look. She simply gave him a sheepish one in return. "Besides, it's only like, what, eight? When did you ever go home early?"

"Roxas is right about that one," Namine added.

Sora held up his hands in surrender, seeing how the odds were stacked against him. "Fine, I see how it is. You all seem to be ready to witness the meanest dares and truths you're ever going to face in your life. I see, I see—prepare. Yeah, I'm looking at you, Axel. Tonight will mark the night where we'll either be the best of friends or the greatest of enemies."

"You're on," Axel smirked as he thumped a fist on the ground. "Who wants to spin the bottle first?"

"Let me have the honors," Xion volunteered, but Sora stopped her arm from reaching the bottle by grabbing it.

"I know you're just going to rig it somehow to make it land on me. Not today, my friend, not today," he said as he shook his head. "The only person I trust right now is Namine. You spin the bottle first, Nami." Rolling her eyes at the two, Namine reached out and spun the bottle. At the end, it landed on Sora anyway, but at least it was Namine.

"Truth or dare?"

"Truth."

" _Pfft,_ says the guy who said he would deliver the 'meanest dares and truths'" Axel roared, "Do a dare, you wimp!"

"We gotta start off slow and steady first, geez," Sora spat back, trying his best not to burst out laughing. "Give it to me, Nami."

"Uh…" Namine had to put some thought into first before she asked the question. "What's your favorite childhood movie?"

"Weak! Namine, seriously?" Axel complained once more. Sora chuckled victoriously, escaping the game's wrath for at least one round.

"High School Musical. Best love story ever. We're breaking free!" his voice cracked horribly at the end, but he didn't care. "Thanks, that's why I love you, Nami."

"Whatever."

Sora reached over for the bottle and spun it dramatically by using both hands. When it landed on Roxas, Sora eagerly rubbed his hands together. "Hoho, Roxas, truth or dare?" The blond tugged the collar of his shirt with a finger nervously, not liking how Sora was the one asking him.

"… Dare."

"I dare you to wear everyone's socks right now at the same time." Before Roxas could accept the challenge, Sora added one last thing. "Axel's first."

"Dude, no, you're actually horrible," Xion guffawed as she covered her mouth to hide her obnoxious laughter. "Axel's feet reeks like three-month-old moldy pizza! Sora, I think I might like you." The two of them gave each other a high-five, suddenly comrades for the night.

"Xion's second so that she could absorb some of that goodness."

"Never mind, I don't think we can ever be friends."

"Namine third, mines fourth, and Kairi's last, since I don't want Kairi's cute pink socks to be dirtied," Sora gave Kairi a wink as he peeled his socks off his feet and threw them at Roxas, who reluctantly caught them in his hands with a disgusted look evident on his face.

"You sure have an imaginative mind, Sora." And so, everyone watched as Roxas pulled off his socks and started to wear everyone's one by one. When he had to slip his foot into Axel's socks, he tried not to show his nausea. When Kairi's socks were put on last, they had to be stretched quite a bit so that it could encompass the entirety of his thick sock-layered feet.

"This feels so disgusting," Roxas groaned as he felt his feet getting all sweaty. "Hand me the damn bottle."

This time, it landed on Axel, who whooped what sounded like a battle cry. "Truth or dare?"

"Dare, baby, dare."

"I dare you to cover and duct tape your hands together." Roxas stood up from the circle and temporarily disappeared to the kitchen before coming back with a roll of duct tape. He threw it to Xion, who caught it effortlessly. "And when I mean cover, I mean _everything_. So, I better not see any fingers."

"My boy, I'll do more than just duct tape my hands together. Come at me, Xion, come at me!"

Three minutes later, and Axel had his hands and feet all duct taped together. This whole entire time, Kairi tried to keep a straight face during the whole game, but it was getting extremely harder and harder the more the dares got stupid and ridiculous. Axel looked like some frog as he struggled to sit up.

"Someone spin the bottle for me please." Xion was about to volunteer again, but Sora had a stronger reason now not to let her.

Kairi wordlessly stretched her hand out towards the bottle and spun it, making Sora glad that she was enjoying it. Even though she didn't show it on her face, Sora just knew.

"Oh no, not me again," Sora said. He let out a long, drawn out groan when he realized it was Axel who was going to ask him. "Kairi, you betrayed me."

"I'm sorry," she said, hints of a smile at her lips.

"Hit me, Axel, hit me."

"Truth or dare, you wimp?"

"Truth because I know when to be smart."

"You're no fun. Okay, here it goes: the most overused question but the most classic. Who's your first crush?"

A round of ooo's echoed within the circle of friends as Sora got hit with the question.

"Can we have like a rule where a person can have on pass on a—"

"Just answer the damn question, you coward."

"No, but it might—"

"No 'buts' you mother moogle!"

"Namine," he blurted out, just wanting to get it over with. He didn't want to ruin everybody's fun by continuing to stubbornly refuse. When everyone first heard her name, they all thought he was just calling for her, but when he remained silent, they realized that that was actually his answer.

"Oh…" It was too late for Axel to take it back. Namine blinked three times rapidly before she remained still as a rock, staring at Sora as if he just grew five heads at once within the snap of a finger.

"Just… give me the bottle," Sora muttered as he covered half of his face with a hand. It was to hide the gigantic blush that was flourishing on his cheeks. No one ever saw a blushing Sora like this before. "No, we're not dating, Roxas. This doesn't prove anything."

"Sora, are you feeling okay? You're freaking tan, but I see the redness that's—"

"Roxas, just shut up and just give me the bottle."

"Kairi has the bottle."

"Axel, you successfully destroyed Sora," Xion said in amazement as Kairi slowly handed Sora the bottle. Namine still remained silent as she watched the bottle go from Kairi's hands to Sora's. It was as if the fate was making it worse for him, for the bottle landed right on Namine at the worst timing ever.

"Truth or dare?" he asked, recovering himself. His hand fell from his face as he looked at her expectantly.

"Truth."

"…" Sora was still unable to function as he started to get red all over again. It wasn't actually a big deal to him—he believed he was officially over Namine—but just revealing the truth he kept a secret for so long was embarrassing him like no tomorrow. At the same time, it was a truth that shouldn't be too big of a deal if he was able to reveal it. "Ugh, someone ask her the question. Let me skip out on this one."

"Uh… what's your favorite childhood movie?" Roxas awkwardly repeated. Namine nervously laughed.

"High School Musical."

"…"

 _Wow._

"Don't tell me you guys watched it at the same time or something," Axel joked.

"We did. All three." Namine laughed nervously once more as tucked her hair behind both her ears.

"…"

Sora simply tossed Namine the bottle, silently telling everyone to move on and end this topic. She spun it, making it land on Roxas once more.

"Truth or dare?"

"Truth. I'm scarred." He wiggled his toes, feeling the nastiness inside. Namine put a finger to her chin as she tried to think of a good question.

"If you had one word to describe each of us, what would it be? Hm, you can start with Xion and go around," Namine said, letting Roxas get off easy from his last dare. Roxas chuckled before he started.

"Xion. Hm. This one's hard. If I were to use only one word…"

"Bro, you're just trolling me here."

"Crazy."

Xion launched at Roxas to give him a few punches to his arm, causing him to laugh wholeheartedly.

"Axel. Crazy too. Actually, 'maniacal' sounds better."

Axel swooped over to Roxas's side and joined Xion in their assault at the blond. Sora, Namine, and Kairi simply watched, seeing how obviously close the trio were.

Roxas then moved on to Sora, who looked at him expectantly.

"Silly."

"Thought I would get a cooler word," Sora pouted as he crossed his arms. Roxas ignored his complaint and moved on to Namine, who looked at him with slight anticipation. This was going to be the word that described how he viewed her. Roxas had to think about it a little bit as he looked Namine up and down.

"This is hard. Hm… only one word…"

"Violent sounds about right," Sora said with a nod of his head. "She's ruthless." Namine reached past Roxas to slap Sora's knee, which he hissed in exaggeration. "See? She doesn't like what I say, so she results to brute force."

"You're the only one who deserves it," she growled. Roxas laughed at the two before he revealed his word.

"Namine. Smart." When Roxas wasn't looking, Sora guffawed silently as he buried his face onto the ground to hide his expression. Namine forced a smile at the blond, making sure her mouth didn't twitch or anything. That was not the word she wanted him to use.

"Wow, thanks." Roxas didn't catch her displeased reaction as he patted her on the head affectionately before he moved on to Kairi, who didn't know what to expect.

"Gosh, you're hard too. All of you just can't be described with one word."

"But you manage anyway," Axel grumbled. Roxas ignored the flamehead as he focused his gaze on the redhead. Kairi looked back at him innocently with her bright blue orbs.

"Sweet-tempered," Roxas finally decided.

"What the fuck? Crazy, maniacal, silly, smart, and then suddenly sweet-tempered?" Axel spluttered, pointing to everyone respectively. "Everyone got hella generic words while Kairi over here gets a deep and thoughtful analysis. My brother, what even?" Kairi felt uncomfortable being put on splash as she looked away and focused on the chimney by the other side.

"I just can never see her get mad," Roxas justified, shrugging his shoulders to make him sound more convincing. "It's not like I didn't think about you guys either. I mean, look at her," Roxas motioned a finger at Kairi, who shyly looked at the ground. "Am I not wrong?"

"Well, you're not wrong…" Sora agreed as all eyes studied Kairi like a lab study. Unable to handle it anymore, Kairi covered her face with both her hands, earning a few aw's from the circle of friends.

"The more I spend time with her, the more I find her so adorable," Xion giggled as she gave Kairi a side-hug.

"Thank you," Kairi softly said.

The bottle got spun by Roxas, and this time, it finally landed on Kairi.

"Truth or dare?

"… Truth." No one really complained about that one—they all knew she was going to pick truth anyway after seeing what Roxas and Axel had to go through.

"Hm, I'm better at saying dares than truths. Uh…" Roxas didn't want to ask anything too uncomfortable for Kairi. "What are your thoughts right now?"

"I understand you're going easy on her, but c'mon, dude, she can basically say anything," Axel complained for the nth time that night. He really wanted an intense game.

"Don't mind what he says," Roxas assured Kairi. "He's just being moody today."

"Um…" No one thought that she was going to say anything much since she was a very quiet and non-vocal girl, but they had another thing coming. "I'm having a lot of fun. Being with friends… makes me happy. I'm glad I came today."

Xion was the first to squeal as she gobbled Kairi up again and circled her arms around the redhead, finally making Kairi spread a huge smile across her face that she had been hiding all day long.

"Why didn't I discover you sooner? You're so adorable and cute!" Xion giggled. "Be my new friend. I already have enough packs of testosterone around me; it's suffocating."

"No one told you to hang out with us," Roxas argued.

"Y'all need me, that's why."

Kairi laughed, which rang like soft jingles to Sora's ears.

He was glad that he brought her over to Roxas's house today and that she was having more fun than he thought she would. A little part of him feared that she would just keep to herself and shy away from everyone, but that didn't happen. Even though she didn't say much the entire time, it was enough for Sora to see her laugh with everyone.

Truth or dare lasted a few more rounds before Sora thought it was about time to go. Grabbing his keys that sat on the piano, Sora waited for Kairi to finish exchanging contacts with Xion before she went to him near the front door.

"Hi," she said a bit breathlessly. She smiled, "Are we going?" The way her cheeks flushed slightly because of her excitement from tonight reminded Sora of a kid who just finished visiting the amusement park for the first time.

"Yup. Whenever you're ready."

Before the two of them put on their shoes, Roxas suddenly called for Kairi by the stairs.

"It won't take long. Come here," Roxas signaled for her to come with a hand as he disappeared upstairs. Kairi wondered what he had to tell her as she slowly made her way up as well.

"Welp, tell Roxas I said bye," Xion said to Sora as she slipped on her shoes along with Axel. Looking over at Namine who was simply taking the time to observe the living room, Xion said her farewells to the blonde as well before she opened the front door.

"Nice getting to know you a little bit more," Sora added as they stepped out. Xion stuck her tongue at him while Axel gave him a fist bump.

"I think we're going to be the best of friends."

"You're never going to get on my good side."

Sora put a hand over his chest at Xion's mean comment before chuckling.

"See you guys later."

"Bye!"

Upstairs, Kairi followed Roxas back into his room, where he reached down and pulled a drawer of his bedframe. She stepped to the side and got her head closer to see what he was doing. When he turned around and handed her an empty picture frame, she slowly took it in her hands, confused.

"Decorate your house a bit, okay?" he said, a smile in his eyes. "It won't hurt."

"Oh," Kairi said automatically, admiring the intricate patterns of the frame's border. She didn't want to say no, so she graciously took it and muttered a "thank you" underneath her breath. Sora wasn't wrong when he said Roxas was quite an observant guy. She didn't even say anything to him about her family circumstances, yet he already probably had a hint about how it was. She doubted she would use the frame as she followed him back downstairs.

When he suddenly stopped during his descent, Kairi was about to question what was wrong, but he turned around and put a finger to his lips. She shut her mouth.

"Freshman year," she heard Sora say. If she heard right, she would've thought that he sounded very uncomfortable and nervous—something she never heard in his voice. A brief silence filled the entire house until the shuffling of feet occurred.

"I find that really funny," she heard Namine laugh this time.

"How so?"

"I liked you too. Odd."

 _Oh gosh,_ Kairi thought. Knowing how she wasn't supposed to be listening to this, Kairi looked at Roxas, who looked at her back at the same time. His eyes told her to just remain quiet—he also seemed guilty for listening in on their conversation, but it didn't look like he was going to stop anytime soon.

"No way," Sora said. "You liked Roxas, didn't you? I mean, you still do, but."

Kairi continued to stare at Roxas, unable to keep her emotions from appearing completely evident on her face now. She thought he would've been surprised from hearing that little fact Sora just said, but instead, his jaw simply tightened. There were no signs of surprise on his features at all. This made Kairi wonder if Roxas already knew all this.

"Don't say it so loudly in his house!" Namine hissed to him. Ironic, 'cause he was already listening to everything they were saying. "It's kind of awkward to say."

" _Pfft_ , tell me about it. Hey, how about you just text me about it or something… if you want." Kairi didn't even see them, but she could already feel the awkwardness pervading the whole house now. "If you're scared it'll change something between us… it won't. It's been two years. I'm fine. If I wasn't, I wouldn't have said it during the game."

"Haha, yeah…"

"Come with me, Kairi," Roxas whispered, going back to the top of the stairs. "We gotta enter normally somehow." And then suddenly, Roxas suddenly started laughing out loud as he went back down towards the stairs. Kairi followed him in his act, forcing a smile on her face to make it look just as natural.

"Wow, took you guys long enough," Sora said, voice returning back to normal as he watched Roxas and Kairi climb down the stairs and approach them. "I was about to check to make sure you guys weren't dead."

"We weren't even gone for that long, chill," Roxas chuckled.

"I'm ready to go now," Kairi said.

Namine was the one to leave a second after when her parents came to pick her up.

"Bye, guys," she said before she rushed out the front door and hopped into the car.

"See you later, Roxas. Thanks for inviting us. It was fun," Sora grinned as he jingled his keys in his hands. Kairi gave a shy wave and held up the frame in her other hand.

"Bye. Thanks for this."

"Yeah, no problem. Get home safely."

Kairi shivered as her skin met the cold air. When she entered Sora's car, the coldness of the leather seats didn't make it better. Seeing her shake, Sora shrugged off his jacket and threw it gently over her lap. She quickly shook her head.

"No, it's okay. I'm fine."

"Don't be shy," Sora chuckled as he entered his car. "At least keep it until this car heats up." Sora pumped up the heater the moment he started his car. The air was cold at first, but it quickly got warmer. "Did you have fun today?"

"I did," Kairi admitted, feeling the soft fabric of his warm jacket. It smelled like him. When they were finally alone in the car, Kairi started to remember what happened between them in Roxas's room. Feeling the embarrassment coming back, she held in her groan and leaned her head against the window of his car door to hide her face away from him. Wondering how in the world she even had the courage to do something so unlike her, Kairi went from feeling cold to hot in less than a second. _It was all because he was just lying there with me and I got strangely curious and he was just not moving, so I thought it would be okay, but—_

"Something the matter?"

"No, nothing." Sora wanted to ask more, but since she looked uncomfortable, he didn't and simply drove them back.

There wasn't much to see through the window as Sora drove past the houses and streets. Since it was dark time, Kairi couldn't see much even if she wanted to. With the dark of the night and the rhythmic yet gentle bumps along the road as the car drove, Kairi felt sleepiness overtake her. Her eyes threatened to close every time she blinked.

"You can sleep. It's actually a long way from Roxas's house to yours. He lives quite far from school. I'll wake you up when we arrive," Sora's gentle voice broke the silence of the night. Kairi didn't say anything as she allowed her eyes to finally close. Naturally just using Sora's jacket as a blanket without realizing it, she quickly let sleep take over her.

~.~.~

 _It was dark. Kairi didn't know how long she was in the car for or what time of day it was. All Kairi knew was that she didn't want to be in here anymore. She wanted to cry, to scream, to wail, but she couldn't with the cloth tied around her mouth or the rope that sealed her wrists together. All she wanted to do was go back home and celebrate her fifth birthday with her parents and her friends. The balloons—where were they? She really liked them._

 _"You have so much energy in you, don't you?" the man's eerie voice said from the front seat. "Little girl, you're going to be alright. This kind man will take care of you tonight."_

 _Kairi didn't know how much longer they drove, but when they stopped, she became alert again. Before she could act and start squirming around again, the side door at her feet opened, but closed soon after. He had entered. His body hovered over her so that he could reach over behind her head and untie the cloth from her mouth._

 _"Let me go, let me go!" Kairi screamed. "I want to go home! Home!"_

 _"You're really cute. Very nice red hair." Kairi shivered when his rough hand ran through her red hair. Because of the dark, she couldn't see him well, but she knew that he was old enough to be her father. "Soft red hair too."_

 _His hands went down to caress her cheeks, feeling their softness before they traveled lower and lower and lower. Kairi shut her eyes closed, feeling disgusted, scared, and afraid. Her mind spun around, wondering why she wasn't home and why this happened. She just wanted to see her mom and dad now. She didn't want to be in this car anymore._

 _Kairi's mind started to go offline, but the next moment, she found herself propped up and dumped out of the car by a rough push of the same hand that touched her._

 _"Go on! Get on out of here!"_

 _"Kairi… Kairi!"_

"Mommy! Daddy!" Kairi screamed, eyes squeezed shut as she relived the nightmare that always haunted her whenever she slept. "No, don't touch me!"

"Kairi! Kairi, wake up, you're okay!"

Kairi only woke up when she felt hands on the sides of her arms trying wake her up.

"Don't touch me, don't touch me!" she screeched, using her legs to kick Sora away from her. Sora tipped over and fell back hard on the random sidewalk where he parked at. He groaned in pain as he felt his bottom fall on something sharp and his head bump right onto the metal pole of the street light.

"Fuck," he cursed, hand immediately flying to the back of his head. A nice bruise was going to form later for sure. His other hand removed the sharp rock from underneath him before he slowly stood back up. He looked at Kairi, who seemed fully awake now. Her eyes were wide with horror at the realization of what she just did to him. "Are you awake now?"

"I'm s-s-sorry," she stuttered, eyes looking frantically at where they were. Her eyes brimmed with tears as the feelings from her nightmare slowly went away. "I'm sorry, I was—I—nightmare, and—"

"You're fine," Sora interrupted, effectively stopping her from continuing to mutter gibberish. Slowly, he went back to her side, opened the car door wider so that there could be space for him, and squatted down before her. She sat in her seat, legs dangling out of the car now as she faced him. The street light shone on her face, revealing her evident fear. It hurt him to see her like this.

"I'm sorry," she cried, hands shaky as she wiped away her tears. "I'm sorry."

"These nightmares. Do you get them often?" Sora asked, worried. Kairi slowly nodded her head.

"Where are we?"

"A random neighborhood that I hope is safe. An accident happened on the freeway, so there is immense traffic," he explained, continuing to feel the bump behind his head. "I had to take a random exit when I started to hear you talk in your dream. You started to cry and scream, so I had to stop."

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay. You're fine." Because of her kick, Sora was a bit afraid to go any closer to Kairi. He stayed there with her until she completely calmed down and let the emotions of the nightmare drain away. "Take your time. There's no rush. Well, there is kind of—this neighborhood is kind of dark."

"Are you… hurt?" Kairi asked, seeing how he kept rubbing the back of his head. Sora laughed to make it seem like no big deal, but he winced when the muscle he had to use to do that made it hurt more.

"I just kind of bumped my head on the pole. No biggie."

"I'm so sorry."

"Stop apologizing. It's really fine."

Kairi looked at Sora as he looked back at her. Underneath the light, his blue eyes never failed to show its kindness and warmth. Even when she hurt him, he didn't seem to care as he waited for her to feel better. His spiky hair wafted gently up and down as a soft yet cold, freezing breeze. Because he had given her his jacket, he only wore his navy-blue long-sleeve that probably wasn't a good fighter against the cold.

But even so, he didn't express any complaints. Only a small closed-mouth smile as he reassured her with a calm look.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, regret lacing every word she said. "I'm sorry I hurt you." At that moment, Sora realized he couldn't be patient anymore. Kairi wasn't going to easily open up to him, so he had to encourage her.

"Kairi, can you answer me this one question?"

"What is it?"

"… Will you ever tell me what happened to make you become like this?" He saw how Kairi's face instantly harden—something he never saw her do before. "We can talk about it and ease some of that burden you always carry with you. It hurts… to see you like this. I'm happy whenever I see you laugh and smile like you did today, but when I know your problems just come to haunt you again like this… I can't stand still, Kairi."

"I'm disgusting," she blurted out. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Kairi—"

"I don't want to talk about it. I—I don't want to talk about something that will make you uncomfortable. I don't want to bother you, and—"

"Kairi, you're never a bother."

Sora found out that him and Kairi were similar in many ways. He watched as her eyes shimmered with many emotions, ranging from nervousness to fear and even to shame. Seeing what Namine meant about friends and burdens, Sora shook his head and looked her straight in the eye. Maybe his expression could prove to her his stubbornness.

"It's my own problem," she continued to argue. It surprised Sora to hear slight anger in her voice.

"Sometimes, problems can't be solved by yourself."

"Problems caused by yourself needs to be solved by yourself," she retorted. "I'm fine, Sora. It's just a little problem that—"

"'Little problem'?" he repeated. His mind went through all the memories of her trembling in fear, looking at the world with fear, unable to hold her own world together without it shattering to pieces from time to time. The only reason why she still stood on her own two feet was because she just had to. What else could she do? "If fearing the world constantly while just walking to class in the morning is a little problem, my whole life might as well be a little problem."

Getting angry and sarcastic was one of the last things Sora wanted to resort to, but having a fight with Kairi was one of the last-last things Sora ever wanted to do. However, he just couldn't hold it in anymore. Namine was right; it wasn't his fault if Kairi didn't open up to him. "I definitely won't force it out of you—"

"That's what you're trying to do right now—"

"But I just want things to be better for you!"

"I already said that I'll deal with it by mysel—"

"Is it fucking working?" Kairi immediately closed her mouth when Sora suddenly started swearing. He sounded so aggressive that it honestly made her afraid of him. He seemed to have realized what he did, for he covered his mouth and looked away. "Sorry."

"…"

"I won't take back what I said though," he said, a lot calmer as he stood up from his squatting position. "I get that you're trying to fix stuff by yourself. You cut your hair, you changed your gloomy appearance, you're talking to people like me and Roxas, but you have to ask yourself: is it enough? It's great that you have the ability to have fun, but wouldn't it be so much better to have fun without having anything else to worry about?" He signaled for her to bring her legs back into the car before he closed the door. Circling around his car and entering it again, he started the car and drove out of the neighborhood and back into the nearest freeway entrance.

Their ride home was quiet. Both of them didn't say another word as Sora drove silently, eyes staring straight at the road. Traffic slowed down their travel, but eventually, Kairi was in front of her house before she knew it. Not knowing what to say, she simply opened the door and took a foot out.

"Good night," Sora said, voice gentle again. Kairi forced a tiny smile to curl at her lips.

"Good night."

That night, Sora got into his first disagreement with Kairi.

* * *

Yaaaay, here's another chapter haha. I'm going back to college this week so good bye semi-fast updates :(

Nothing much this chapter. It started off fun and ended not-so fun! Writer's block killed me for this so hopefully this chapter wasn't too bad (I personally don't like it too much but hah ah ha ah) I hope that mah readers enjoyed this one (if not, I swear i'll think of something better)

Much love to the people who always review and motivate me!


	12. Chapter 12

Roxas never liked Riku. Period.

The first time they met was through Sora during lunch time. Sora had invited him to have lunch with him and Namine, but it was mainly for Roxas to meet Riku, one of Sora's supposed best friends. At first, Roxas didn't mind. He was actually kind of excited. Even though they only knew each other for only a month, Sora proved to be a great friend. He was honest, truthful, and down-to-Earth. Getting introduced to Namine was another surprise that was part of the package, so when Sora talked about his best friend Riku, Roxas thought he was going to make another unbreakable friendship. If Sora was best friends with this Riku guy, he must've been great.

"Man, that girl—she's super fine," one of Riku's other friends (Roxas wasn't even sure if they were his friends at all) had said back then near the lockers after school. Roxas didn't want to awkwardly intrude, so he hid behind a corner and waited until they left. However, he couldn't help but zone in on their conversation.

"That one over there?" he heard Riku said. " _Pfft_ , she needs to lose a few pounds or something. I like my girls skinny."

Once Roxas heard that crude and disparaging comment spit out of Riku's mouth, he knew that he wouldn't like the guy.

And he was right.

"During PE today, I tried not to laugh at Pence as he ran the mile, but I couldn't keep it in anymore when he tripped on plain nothing," Riku snickered to unknown classmates. "He's just so… _big._ " Roxas tried not to listen anymore as he focused on his math problem that was assigned in during class. Instead of doing what he was supposed to, Riku and his bunch of hooligans just decided to have a gossip circle in the back where the teacher couldn't hear them well.

Something strange Roxas noticed was that whenever the silver-haired was around Sora, he never showed his ugly and deprecating personality. Instead, he showed a side that complimented Sora's very well. Roxas had to double check every single time that he wasn't hallucinating such a thing. When he thought about it, it made sense: Sora was just a bubble of fun. Riku couldn't possibly ruin such a pure creature. Sure, a few comments slipped through his mouth here and there, but it was so little that Sora always let it pass with a smile. Sora genuinely viewed him as a best friend, so Roxas decided to play along just for his sake. He held in his anger whenever he heard Riku say things he didn't like just so that their lunch table would never encounter any problems. If Sora valued Riku as a friend, Roxas would not interfere with it.

"You know, when I kind of look at the redhead… she's actually kind of cute. I saw her take off her glasses during class this one time, and _wow_." Roxas was just heading towards track practice after school when he heard that comment about Kairi. He smiled knowingly as he passed by the group, not seeing Riku as he did. He was glad to hear something positive about the redhead for once.

"You mean Kairi? The freak? Nah, you should pass on that thought. She's just a dysfunctional, disabled freak of nature. You should stay far away."

The moment Roxas heard that, he felt anger and disgust erupt from inside him and overflow all throughout his body, especially after he just witnessed the redhead cry her heart out. The last thing she needed was people talking cruelly behind her back. Roxas for a second tried to calm down, but it didn't work this time.

 _I've had enough._

Turning around, Roxas stormed over to the group and, without any warning, pushed through the circle of friends to grab Riku by the collar of his shirt. With a violent force, Roxas pulled Riku forward and slammed him back against the lockers.

"Say that again," Roxas snarled, "I dare you to say that again in front of my freaking face."

"Roxas, holy moly, what's wro— _ow!_ Dude, what's up with you?" Riku exclaimed out of surprise, shock clear on his face at the sudden assault. He didn't understand what he did to make the always-calm blond suddenly explode at his face. "You're actually hurting m—"

"If I ever hear you say _anything_ like that again, I swear I won't know what I'll do to you," Roxas spat in his face. "I've been listening to you spill shit from your mouth, left and right, up and down, no matter where the hell you are besides near Sora, but I've kept quiet just for the sake of peace." Understanding what Roxas was getting mad about now, Riku simply gave him a smug look, which only furthered his anger.

"So you're the redhead's friend, huh? _Oof_ , whoa, whoa, whoa, Roxas, my dude, chill, chill." He held up both hands in surrender. "There's nothing to get angry about."

"Just shut up. There's a limit of how much crap spills out of your mouth."

"Damn, Roxas, I never knew you could get mad like this. I've been wondering why you've been silently glaring at me these past few weeks, but I finally figured it out. You dislike me a lot, don't you?"

If Sora and Namine hadn't intervened, Roxas didn't know how he was going to hold back from hurting the guy. Roxas never resorted to violence, but Riku really tested the waters with him with his conceited look. After he had calmed down, the only feelings he felt was shame and embarrassment at the fact that Sora and Namine had to see him in such a state. He had tried his best for Sora, tried his best to not cause any trouble, but he had failed.

But he didn't regret it. Riku needed a wake-up call. None of them could just ignore Riku's blatantly supercilious attitude anymore.

 _I'm sorry, Sora._ He knew Sora had to do something about it, whether he wanted to or not. He understood that Sora never did anything because he didn't want to fight with his best friend, but there was a limit to everything. _Sora, you have to do something about it. Only you can do it._

So, when they were entering the second week of Roxas not joining their table, Sora had enough.

"Riku, why don't you try apologizing to Roxas for whatever you did?" Sora asked very nicely during lunch, making sure his voice didn't sound demanding. He still didn't know what happened between the two to make Roxas so upset, but that didn't matter anymore. He just wanted Roxas back in their table. It was getting lonely without him. Riku took a huge bite of his burger before he replied to the spiky-haired boy.

"Don't want to," he gruffly said with his mouth full. "I won't apologize unless he comes to me first." Sora tried not to take his hands and just rub his face with them out of agony. Riku was just too stubborn for his liking.

"Don't you want to be the better person?"

"Too much effort."

"Riku," Sora stretched out his name. "Riku, Riku, Riku! C'mon this table is so lonely. Even Selphie left us for her club—what was it even called, Fashionistas? This table is so lonely now! Namine misses her lover."

"He is not my lover," Namine corrected immediately, eyes never leaving her book. Sora sighed as he plopped his chin on his palm. Why and when did things even become like this? It seemed like he was having friend problems with everyone: Namine, Riku, Roxas, and even Kairi. _Ugh._ His eyes went from Riku to Namine's fleetingly. Remembering their text messages the night after they went home from Roxas's house, Sora rubbed a hand on his forehead before he couldn't stand it anymore. He usually dealt with it internally and never let it show for the sake of no troubles, but no. Not this time. Unable to stay in both Riku's and Namine's presence, Sora took his backpack and his tray.

"Where you heading, Sora?" Riku asked, finally putting his full attention on the spiky-haired brunet. Sora forced a smile—he could see Namine just stabbing him with her knife eyes—and pointed his finger in a random direction.

"I'm just, uh, going to get a breather."

"From… what?" Before Riku could even finish his sentence, Sora was already out and about. Namine sighed and closed her book, setting it down on the table with a small thud. Riku knew she was glaring at him, but he pretended not to notice it as he continued eating.

"Sora's right. You should apologize to Roxas as soon as possible."

"Not you too," he groaned, wiping his hands with napkins. "Everyone's suddenly painting me as the villain."

"Roxas doesn't get ever get mad like that for a good reason. What did you do to him?" Namine asked. Since Sora wasn't here, she wasn't afraid to battle it out with Riku. She also was sick of the tension between all of them—she at least wanted to know why they were even fighting. "You know him. He's a very reasonable person."

"You sure are sticking up for your lover, aren't you?" Riku sneered, taking a swig of his water. Namine's eyes narrowed thinner as she watched him laugh. "If he was reasonable, he wouldn't have attacked me like that."

"What did you do to him?" she repeated.

"I was just saying a few harmless jokes about Ms. Redhead. He suddenly got mad at me." Namine knew his "harmless" jokes were anything but. However, what caught her attention was the Ms. Redhead part.

"Excuse me?"

"Kairi Lockhart, that's who I'm talking about if you want to know—I'm pretty sure you know who she is," Riku said with a roll of his eyes. When he saw Namine's frown slightly deepen, he grinned widely. "Oh, oh, oh? What's this we got here?"

"Shut up," she said, "Just apologize to him."

"You don't like it either, do you?"

"Like what?"

"Jealousy is a powerful emotion. Wrecks friendships, destroys bonds. Powerful," Riku mused on, swirling his glass of water with his straw. His blue eyes observed Namine. She returned to her poker face the moment she realized how he was trying to get a reaction from her. "I'm not blind, and I'm sure you aren't either. I've seen them, but I just don't want to start a fight anymore."

"Just say what you want to say directly."

"You don't like it, do you? Everything was fine, wasn't it? Until the redhead suddenly popped into the picture. Made Sora act different. Got suddenly close enough to Roxas for him to get angry and defend her like that. You don't like how she's taking your two precious boys away from you."

"That's not true."

" _Pfft_ , I've known you since middle school. I knew you liked Sora, but he was unreachable, wasn't he? Then you jumped ship to Roxas, but he was also unreachable. Unfortunate. Something you were never able to do, she did right before your eyes. Seeing someone else getting close to both of them at the same time must make you really—"

"Just shut up!" Namine suddenly screamed, making Riku jump in his seat a little bit in surprise from her outburst. A few people in the cafeteria turned to look at them, Roxas included. "That's not true."

"I know Sora and Roxas view you highly. What if they knew you actually harbor these types of feelings around them? Surely, your image—"

"Shut up, shut up, shut up," Namine demanded, shoving her book into her backpack and zipping it up harshly. She pulled her arms through the straps and grabbed her tray of food, her glower never disappearing. She couldn't be in Riku's presence anymore. "Continue talking like you're superior."

"And what do you mean?"

"You're scared of people stepping all over you, just like how they did in middle school when Kairi pushed you away," Namine hissed, not backing down from the fight anymore. "I never told Sora because I didn't want him to know about how you became so pathetic. To shit on people just to make yourself feel better—a mechanism to protect yourself. What an immature reason."

"Say that again," Riku said threateningly, eyes flashing as he watched the blonde stare down at him.

"I'll gladly say it again. You, Riku, are a big wimp who tries to act all tough and big just so that people won't bully your weak self."

Riku's tray clattered harshly as he stood up, knocking the glass of water all over the table. Before Riku could even say anything back as a retort, Namine swiveled on her heels and stormed off and out of the cafeteria, leaving him to stare at her disappearing back.

~.~.~

"Kairi, are you telling me you eat lunch alone all the time?" Xion exclaimed, shaking her head wildly at the redhead. The two of them sat at a bench outside the cafeteria for the last eight minutes of lunch. Kairi nodded slowly, a bit embarrassed to hear the fact said out loud. "What the hell is Sora doing?"

"Don't blame him," Kairi quickly said to defend Sora. "He has his own… friends."

"You're his friend too, aren't you? Look at me, I have my own friends too, but when I saw you out here alone—ugh, Sora, I knew we weren't meant to be friends." Xion rolled her eyes just thinking about the spiky-haired brunet and pinched her eyebrows together. "You know, it might be strange to you, but you're always welcome at our table. The Organization is quite nice. Maybe some of them might strike you as odd, but they're all cool. Roxas and Axel got your back too."

"Thank you, Xion," Kairi said. Inside, she probably wouldn't feel comfortable with such a huge group, but she appreciated Xion's offer. The raven-haired girl was very friendly. Kairi was sure that Xion had heard about her before with all the rumors circulating around, but that didn't seem to stop Xion from trying to know Kairi better. Their outing at Roxas's house proved to Xion that there was more to Kairi than what other people perceived her to be.

When the bell rang, Xion stood up from the bench and faced Kairi, a welcoming smile on her face.

"If you ever want someone to talk to, I'm here. Sora and Roxas might be cool and all, but nothing beats female friendships." This earned a small and soft laugh from Kairi. "High school's tough on your own. If you ever feel lonely, don't be afraid to hit me up. I need some time away from Roxas and Axel and, well, the whole damn Organization anyway—they treat me as if I'm one of the guys. I'll let them have a nice reminder that I have female needs as well."

"Sure," Kairi said with a smile. "I'd love that."

"Catch you later, Kairi! Remember, don't be a stranger." And with a wave, Xion rushed to her class, which was quite far from where they were. Kairi shouldered her backpack and watched Xion disappear from the corner before she made her way to class. Glad that she found a potential friend in Xion, Kairi walked to class with a little skip in her step.

When Kairi entered her history class, it was the same old routine. She would wait for everyone to enter first before she made her way to the seats all in the way back since no one would sit around there. Everyone knew it was Kairi's territory, so no one ever wanted to sit next to her. Kairi never complained. However, she forgot that Roxas was also in the same class as her.

"Hello," Roxas greeted, settling his backpack and duffel onto the ground. Kairi stood straighter in her seat and blinked. It was a first for Roxas to sit next to her. Then again, they did get closer somewhat. Concluding that it wasn't strange at all, Kairi waved her hand and returned his greeting.

"Hi." Kairi felt a bit conscious when a few eyes landed on them. Track star Roxas with the redheaded weirdo—it was a strange image for everyone.

"Just ignore them," Roxas said, completely reading her mind. "It's not good to be always conscious about those around you."

"Wise words of wisdom," she mused. She looked at him curiously when he gave her a strange look. "What's wrong?"

Roxas shook his head before hints of a smile played at the ends of his mouth. "Nothing's wrong. It's just that before, whenever I said anything, you would just kind of nod your head or say nothing. Just kind of refreshing to hear you actually say something."

"Oh," Kairi put her fingers over her mouth, not noticing that little detail at all. Roxas was starting to get scary—nothing seemed to escape his watchful gaze. "I didn't realize."

"And that's good. All natural," he assured, taking out his history notebook. On the whiteboard were instructions on what to do, which meant only one thing: free period. Roxas sighed as he twirled a pencil. "I love free periods and all, but it's so boring. Maybe I should've taken the more advanced history course." At this, Kairi shook her head.

"I'm bad at history, so I like classes like this," she admitted.

" _Tch, tch,_ you're one of those people," Roxas shook his head jokingly, mocking disappointment. Kairi simply laughed as she ran a hand naturally through her hair. "That's right, I never really said anything about your new appearance. I like the haircut. You really, uh," Roxas made the motions of scissors near his own hair, "chopped it off."

"Oh, yeah," Kairi said, always becoming shy whenever someone complimented her. "I did it myself."

"No way. I've had female friends that cut their own hair, and they always miss, like, one strand or something. So, unless someone points it out, they walk around with uneven hair." Kairi ran both her hands through her hair, making sure everything was cut evenly before she shook her head.

"Nope."

And so, they surprisingly spoke with each other the whole time during class. Kairi thought their conversation would just die and that they would return to doing their own things, but topics just kept coming up between the two. It wasn't hard to talk to Roxas—he always seemed genuine in his responses, which made things a lot easier for Kairi. He also took a lot of the things she said seriously, which she appreciated a lot.

"Xion hung out with you during the last half of lunch today? Wow, that girl just loves playing mama bird," Roxas said with a roll of his eyes. Kairi tilted her head to the side a bit.

"Mama bird?"

"She had always noticed you from way back before," Roxas explained, tipping his chair back a little bit. Kairi eyed his chair warily-she hoped he didn't fall backwards. "I don't know if you ever noticed her, but she was in your math class last year. She told me how she wanted to talk to you, but you seemed very distant—as if you wanted to be alone—so she never approached you."

"Really?" All this surprised Kairi. "She's very nice."

"Big person of justice, if anything," he laughed. "That's what I like about her." Kairi hummed in understanding, admiring how Roxas had such great friends that he could be proud of.

"All of that sounds nice," she muttered, randomly scribbling on her blank piece of paper. "Having friends, that is."

"You speak as if you don't have any." When Kairi didn't respond to that, Roxas jokingly put a hand to his chest. Because of this, he almost tipped and fell backwards. "I'm offended. Hey, what did we do together on Saturday?"

"We hung out," she answered.

"That's right, so doesn't that mean we're friends now too?" Kairi twiddled her thumbs on her desk.

"I guess. But Roxas…"

Roxas raised an eyebrow. "Yes?"

"Do friends… argue?" Kairi didn't know if her question was really a strange question, for Roxas suddenly started laughing.

"Of course. If there was ever a perfect friendship in this world, just shoot me now." Roxas didn't need to ask who she was talking about—it could only be one person. "It's a normal thing. Axel and I always fight. There was a time where the fight was so bad, we didn't talk to each other for three weeks."

"Seriously?"

Roxas grinned, "No lies." Kairi took in what Roxas said before she sighed.

"Having friends sound hard."

"No one ever said it was easy."

"You are right."

"When two people fight," Roxas continued to explain more, "both people have to compromise. That's true friendship. If it's only one person solving everything, then it's just going to crumble sooner or later."

"Is this from experience?" she asked once more. Roxas laughed nervously as he thought about Riku.

"Sure. We can say that."

Kairi nodded, appreciating his answers as her mind deeply thought about it. Roxas felt as if he was watching a cute elementary schooler trying to figure out how the world worked as he watched Kairi absorb everything he said. "It comes naturally. No need to blast your brain thinking about it."

"Okay."

When the bell rang, Roxas waited with Kairi for everyone to exit before they too exited.

"Do you have early schedule or late schedule?" he asked, inquiring whether or not she had another class after this.

"I have early."

"Me too. I always have to chill around somewhere for an hour before practice actually starts." As they walked, Kairi noticed how Roxas's leg hit his duffel bag quite forcefully.

"… Your bag looks heavy."

Roxas pointed to his duffel bag. "This?" Kairi nodded. He took it off and gave it to Kairi, who tentatively grabbed it by the strap. "You judge whether or not it's heavy." When he let go, he tried not to snicker when Kairi bent forward from the weight. She slipped it over her head and across her chest, wondering in amazement how Roxas managed to lug such a thing around every day for a whole season.

"What do you put in here?" If Kairi had to carry such a thing, her shoulder would be crying in pain every day.

"It's a mystery." Kairi concluded that a few of his textbooks were in here too.

Roxas made Kairi carry his bag as a joke all the way to his locker. Lo and behold, there were textbooks in his duffel bag as he opened it and stuffed it into his locker.

"Hey, Kairi, this is totally off-topic, but I feel like we're pretty similar," he remarked as he closed his locker. He turned towards her to face her after he was done.

"We're similar?" Kairi furrowed her eyebrows, "How so?" To Kairi, they were anything but similar. They came from two different worlds, so what was Roxas even talking about?

"Just the vibe I get whenever I talk to you. I feel like we're both people who have a lot of things we don't want to talk about to other people. You know, you're one of the only people I've ever told my past to."

"Really?" Kairi widened her eyes slightly as Roxas chuckled.

"Yeah. It's not like I go around advertising it or anything. Only Axel and Xion knows besides you. Very few people."

"Not even Sora or… Namine?" At the mention of Namine, Roxas licked his lips and pursed them together into a thin line.

"Not even them. The both of them… think that I'm like the perfect guy or something when I'm not. Wow, this is strange, I don't really talk about these things with anyone," Roxas tried to laugh it off, but Kairi's inquiring gaze didn't make it easy. "You're a first. Which is why I said what I said before: I feel like we're pretty similar. That makes it easier to talk to you, 'cause we're similar."

"If you… ever need someone to talk to," Kairi turned slightly red in embarrassment, amazed at herself to be even able to say these kinds of things, "I can… talk. I think." Roxas has helped her before, so she wanted to do the same for him.

"You've changed a lot in such a short amount of time," Roxas smiled. But then he had to rethink about it. It probably wasn't because she changed. No, it was probably because she had always been this type of person. No one ever gave her the chance to express herself. He kept his thought to himself. "Will you give me advice or something? That would be interesting."

"I can try."

"Haha, I appreciate it."

Kairi had to head home, so Roxas let her go. Before she left completely though, he decided to put in his two cents.

"Speaking of advice. Here, I'll give you some right now. Sora's an insecure and dense guy, so he needs things to be put into simple terms for him. Just talk to him. Talking it out with him honestly always works. If you don't talk to him straight out, he'll feel like he's a bad or unreliable friend or something. He gets pushy sometimes, but if you honestly tell him to back off, he'll back off. He gets emotional sometimes."

"Why are we talking about Sora?" Kairi said, feeling like she got caught red-handed. Roxas resisted the urge of ruffling her head because of her phobia and simply winked.

"No reason. Just for future references. Just in case, I don't know, you guys get into a disagreement or something. Who knows. I don't know," Roxas laughed as he pretended to play dumb. "It's good when friends open up to each other. Sora's a very accepting guy—he'll always listen to you, okay?"

"… Okay." Kairi handed him back his duffel bag. "Thank you, Roxas."

"Anytime." Glad that she also found a potential friend in Roxas, Kairi went back home with a skip in her step once more. Roxas stuffed his hands in his pockets and let out a drawn-out sigh.

"I should follow my own advice." He chuckled to himself before he turned around and went towards track practice. "Funny." He then thought about Sora once more.

 _Wish I could be a little bit like you._

~.~.~

 _Nothing was truly wrong with you, Sora. Even though we were best friends, I always felt somehow distant with you. Sometimes, you would be fake to me too despite me always telling you that it's alright to be yourself, but you never listened to me. I liked how cheerful and happy you always were, but I always felt that it wasn't… you. It was you, but at the same time, it wasn't you. That why I just slowly started to get over my crush on you. I'm glad we're best friends though, but I never felt like we could've ever gotten close to a romantic relationship. But this was all two years ago! I just wanted to let you know how it ended, is all. I find it such a weird coincidence that we liked each other without knowing. What a funny memory to look back on later, wouldn't it? :)_

Sora kept re-reading Namine's text over and over again before he couldn't anymore and threw his phone at his bed. He banged his head onto his desk, releasing a long groan into it.

"Fuck me," he drawled, repeatedly hitting his head into his desk. "I'm stupid, stupid, stupid."

This is what it feels like to mess up. _Wow._ Sora lifted his head to look at the framed picture sitting on his desk. It was a candid photo of him and Namine in eighth grade, with Sora giving Namine a piggy-back ride as her arms wrapped around his neck. Both of them were laughing when the picture was taken. It was the day of their promotion to high school. His mom had taken the picture, commenting on how they were growing up so fast.

 _Namine had a crush on me during this time too,_ Sora thought. Amazed, Sora groaned again and slammed his forehead back into the desk. _Darn it._

He was over Namine, but to think about what could've happened between them filled him with bittersweet feelings. He messed up big time. All because he was afraid. To be afraid was one thing, but to be afraid of your own best friend you've known since kindergarten was another. He thought that he had done enough, that he revealed enough of himself for Namine, but she saw through him. She always saw through him. And he never listened.

"Man, I suck," Sora laughed to himself, pulling his head up to rest it on his propped palm. At least she moved on to like a better person. Roxas and her were like two puzzle pieces that fit perfectly—they just needed to be put together. Sora saw their chemistry; it was hard to find two huge bookworms like them in the same place at the same time.

Every time Sora thought about Roxas, he just felt downright lame. Smarts, check. Intelligence, check. Humor, check. Athletic, check. Looks, check. Everything, check. The blond just had everything going for him.

Even Kairi probably liked him. Romantically, Sora wasn't sure, but as a person, definitely. Who wouldn't? Sora had such a hard time talking to Kairi sometimes, but here popped in Roxas, who didn't even bat an eyelash when interacting with the redhead. Sora always told himself to stop it with these thoughts, but at times like this, it just got really hard to stop.

And Kairi. He got impatient at the wrong time. The last thing he ever wanted to do to her was to force it out of her. All he wanted was to make her feel better, to relieve all her burdens, and quickly. Because of his rashness, he went ahead and got all aggressive and sarcastic. _Smart move, dumbass._ Sora felt so guilty. Kairi's fun night with new friends became a bad night, all because his stupid self couldn't wait longer for her to open up. Ever since that night, it was too awkward for him to face Kairi directly.

"Damn, I'm super dumb." Sora just couldn't stop belittling himself as every problem in his entire existence started to just swirl around his head like ghosts on Halloween. And Riku…

No, his head has had enough. He didn't even want to think about Riku. Not now.

That was what he always said whenever he thought about Riku: "not now." Not now, not now, not now—so when?

Just not now.

 _My head hurts._

Deciding that it wasn't going to do any good just mumbling to himself in his room, Sora stood up and stretched his limbs.

And then he got a text message.

~.~.~

 _Just talk to him. Talking it out with him honestly always works._

Kairi didn't like how her and Sora ended up on not-so-positive terms that Saturday night. Using Roxas's advice as encouragement, she did what she had to do. She texted Sora.

 _Let's talk._

Kairi stared at her text bubble, a frown on her face as she examined it. _Do I sound too demanding?_ She switched her phone to her other hand as she continued thinking about it. _Maybe it sounds too brief. Should I add more to it?_ Kairi clasped her phone by both sides as her thumbs typed more, only to erase it all. _No, I think this is good enough. "Let's talk." I think it sounds good._

She then said it out loud. "Let's talk." She made a face.

 _It really does sound too demanding._

Kairi concluded that texting was really hard. The emotions—they just couldn't be portrayed correctly through text.

Before she could continue thinking about it, Sora's quick reply came.

 _Sure._

 _Oh gosh, that sounds so brief too_ , Kairi thought. Her paranoia started to take over. _Is he still mad? He sounds mad. But texts can't sound mad. But these texts are a lot shorter than the ones he sent me in the past. Maybe he is mad._

Texting was hard.

Kairi didn't realize how fifteen minutes passed as she waited for him to say something. Was she supposed to say something first? Figuring that she was the one who should say something first since she was the one who texted first, Kairi began to think about her essay. However, before she could even think about the first line, he finally sent something.

 _I want to talk in person so we can get things across more easily, so I came over. Again. Unannounced. I'm sorry._

Kairi looked at her night pajamas filled with rabbit patterns and started to freak out. _Why, why, why!_ That wasn't even her biggest problem. There was no way she could just leave the house this late on a school night. Her father wouldn't like it. She also didn't want to go down to start a potential problem. Every time he saw her…

Kairi quickly texted Sora how she could not leave the house.

 _Hold up. I'll think of something._

What could he possibly think of? She can't leave the house. Period.

Ten minutes later, and she heard a knock by her window. At first, she thought it was the wind blowing the branches against her window, but when it was consistent, a feeling of dread filled her. _No way, no way, no way._

Opening her curtains, she beheld the sight of Sora hanging by the tree near her window. Words could not form in her mind as she quickly opened her window to let him in. He stumbled in clumsily as his feet touched the floor of Kairi's room.

"I'm feeling like Romeo," he muttered as he fully got into the room. He laughed nervously as he stared at Kairi's bewildered expression. "Are you feeling like Juliet? Where art thou, Juliet? Wait, just kidding. That's not the right line. Um, hi. I hope you don't mind me coming inside your room. You know, I should probably start asking for your permission for stuff from now on, shouldn't I?" He then eyed her pajamas. "Cute pajamas by the way."

At that moment, Kairi just wanted to disappear in a hole.

* * *

Heeeeeeyyyy if you guys are wondering how I'm updating so fast, writing is actually a very strong (is that even a good adjective to describe it) hobby for me. I realize how boring my life actually is during the summer, so besides hanging out with friends, I just write... all day... occasional breaks sometimes but... SO HERE YOU GO. I also want to write a lot for you guys before I start college again (I know I keep mentioning college; it's a way for me to show how much I don't want to go back). I also get excited whenever I get closer to what I want to write, so I just pump it out HAHA. I had fun writing this chapter ( I have fun writing drama in general)! Could anyone relate to the texting problem Kairi had? Cause I do LOL

Honestly, consistent amount of readers and reviews just power me too. To both reviewers and silent readers-y'all the reason why I write this fast ;)


	13. Chapter 13

Sora always climbed the tree to get into Namine's room instead of the front door. Her mom never liked it since he could've potentially gotten severely hurt, but he just kept doing it anyway despite the immense worry he triggered. Her family got used to it, knowing they were the inseparable pair. Sora always did it. It was normal.

So, when he climbed Kairi's tree without a second thought, he finally realized how insensitive and, again, stupid he was when he stepped foot into Kairi's room. Her baffled look, her pajamas, her soft-lit room—a girl's room. He didn't understand what he signed up for until it hit him hard in the face.

 _I should really start asking her for permission for these kinds of things._ He honestly didn't know why he didn't. Maybe he just got used to crashing Namine's and Riku's and Roxas's place without ever telling them beforehand.

But this wasn't any of their homes. This was Kairi's.

Kairi quickly ran across her room and locked her door just in case before she turned back around again. Her surprised look never melted away from her face as she ogled him, as if still trying to accept the fact that he was in her freaking room right now. Sora tried his best to keep his eyes on Kairi and only Kairi or else they would start roaming around her room. Namine hated it whenever they did. He always saw things he shouldn't have seen whenever he popped in unannounced, like a random bra on the floor or something. Namine always killed him whenever that happened.

But keeping his eyes solely on Kairi wasn't a good thing either. She was one-hundred clad in pajamas littered with cute cartoon rabbits, and her red hair was oddly very messy—probably from a nap this afternoon. She reminded him of a fluffy puppy. He could bet his entire life that the last thing she wanted to see was his face right now.

"Sorry," was the best thing he could offer. _You're sounding real apologetic, Sora._ He watched as Kairi's face dissolved from surprise into pure mortification as her cheeks turned red and her ears burned scarlet.

"Why?" she squeaked as she quickly took her blanket and covered all the junk that was on it. Sora honestly didn't know what she was so jumpy about—he had seen messier rooms and hers didn't even come close—but he didn't say anything as her hands frantically fixed all she could to her satisfaction. When she was done, she nervously faced him and ran a hand through her hair, only to realize that her hair wasn't brushed either. She desperately tried to smooth it out with her hands when her frenetic eyes couldn't spot her brush anywhere.

"Kairi, you're fine," Sora finally decided to say, awkwardly leaning his back against her window sill. Maybe she would feel better if he blended in with the wall.

"Is climbing a tree normal for you?" she asked. Sora's eyebrows both raised by the slightest. He could've sworn he heard a hint of irritation in her usually-gentle voice—not that he could blame her. What exactly was he even expecting anyway? _Oh, I'll just jump into her room like it's my own and we can just sit down and have a nice chit-chat over a cup of tea at the dead of night. Sounds fantastic._

"Would you judge me if I said yes?"

Sora expected her to have a greater reaction to his sudden invasion in her room, but she simply let out a small, mid-pitched sound as she covered her face for three seconds and calmed herself down. She then moved to her bed and sat at the edge of it. Sora found it more comfortable by the window sill and just stayed there. If he moved anymore into her room, he would feel like a sinner.

"… Please tell me the things you want to do before you do them," she muttered, patting her two prickled cheeks lightly with the end of her fingers.

"Sorry," he said again, this time really showing that he meant it.

"Can you close the window," Kairi pointed a finger behind her. A strong wind blew into the room, immediately taking all the warmth it had left. "It's cold."

"Yeah, of course." Sora turned around and closed the window, encompassing both of them in a dead silence now that the sounds of the outside were muted. Sora thought he was getting used to silences with Kairi, but it seemed that every time he thought that, he got tested.

Assuming that Kairi cleaned her room enough for his eyes to roam, Sora looked around the area. Kairi's room was quite different from Namine's. While Namine's room was splattered with all her art pieces on her white wall, Kairi's room looked quite girly. Her walls were a soft-pink, and a few stuffed animals sat on her bed with her. The wall near her desk was littered with papers pinned on the wall while her desk had every book and paper stacked neatly on each other.

"You have a cute room," Sora said, seeing no harm in his comment. He had no idea why that embarrassed Kairi though.

"Thanks," she muttered once more.

"… You wanted to talk?"

"Uh, yeah."

Sora darted his eyes over to the now-locked door. "Your parents don't happen to make checks on you, do they?" Kairi took longer than necessary to answer this.

"Not really."

Sora watched as Kairi judged the distance between them, found it strange, and patted the space next to her on the full-sized bed. A small happy feeling erupted in the pit of his stomach for some reason. Maybe it was because before, whenever she calculated the distance between them, she would always want it bigger. Now, she wanted it smaller. Taking off his shoes so that he won't dirty her floors, he took quiet steps towards her bed and sat down next to her. Though, the distance couldn't be too small. Kairi scooted to the side when Sora sat a tad bit closer than she wanted him to.

"Were you busy doing something?"

Kairi shook her head. "I just finished homework. How about you?"

"You're funny. Didn't even start yet," Sora said as he rubbed his nose with a finger. Kairi gave him a morbid look as he returned it with a grin. "The night life is where it all starts. Homework, that is."

"What time do you sleep then?"

"Like two in the morning. Then I go to school, get extremely and severely exhausted from blitzball practice, crash for a four-hour nap after school, and then give myself a little bit of, uh, _free time_ , before I actually start homework." Sora liked the small look of disapproval on Kairi's face as she shook her head slightly and went back to looking at her hands in her lap. She never seemed to be able to hold eye contact with him for long. He made a mental note to change that later.

"That sounds tiring."

"I got used to it."

With the little small talk, both Sora and Kairi got more comfortable despite Sora's unwelcoming appearance. She seemed to forget about that problem as she relaxed her posture, which was super rigid before.

"I'm sorry about Saturday," Sora said, finally reaching the topic they were both here for. "I didn't mean to… _attack_ you like that."

"No, it's okay," Kairi quickly said. "I'm sorry too. I'm sorry for just kicking at you and—"

"I should be sorry for that as well. Remember how I told you how I would never touch you without permission? Well, I—"

"You were just trying to help me."

"But still, I shouldn't have frightened you like that."

"You aren't the one that frightened me," Kairi said sternly this time. "You aren't the one who… made me like this." Sora was scared to ask her for who. He did not want to repeat his mistake of just trying to peg the answer out of her. "I don't want to bother you with my own personal problems.

"Kairi," he shifted himself on the bed so that he could face her. "It's time for a deep, cheesy speech from your one and only. Are you ready?" He only said that to relieve some of the tension that was building between them, and it worked. She laughed a little bit before she nodded.

"Sure."

"I don't know how I can get you to realize that you aren't a bother to me. The last thing you are is a bother—unless you're like knocking on my door at four a.m. or something. But even that's okay if you really need me for something. We might have to talk about it, but until then," he shook his head, "You're not a burden. At all."

"Sora…"

"I literally got shit on by Namine because of this same issue," Sora confessed, rubbing his neck awkwardly as he remembered the moment. "She said she didn't like how I kept my problems to myself, never telling her, my best friend, any of it. Do you know how it makes the other person feel?"

"… How?"

"Pretty darn lonely and unreliable," Sora admitted, laughing a little bit at the end. "So, don't make me feel like that. I'll be honest; you wound me whenever you push me away."

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay. I'm sorry too."

And before they knew it, their little disagreement on Saturday got solved just like that. Kairi thought it would be more dramatic like how they showed in the movies and stuff, but it ended quite simply. She thought they would discuss about it a little bit more, but Roxas was right: all she needed to do was talk with Sora and the problems got solved so easily. It made her feel as if a problem never occurred between them in the first place. Sora was so easy to talk to, it amazed her.

"You're quite understanding, Kairi," he laughed. "I have so much more to learn about you."

"What do you mean?"

"You're a very reasonable and calm person when it comes down to it," he explained. "Roxas wasn't wrong when he said you were sweet-tempered. You really are. I feel like you can never have a long-lasting fight with anyone, since you're so easy to talk to. Makes me realize how I probably didn't even have to come in person to communicate with you—over phone could've worked just as well to get points across. You're amazing." Kairi was very surprised—these were exactly the same thoughts she had about him just a second ago. She was too shy to let this fact be known though.

"Thank you," she simply said. Sora smiled at her.

"Yeah."

Finally, the silence Sora was more comfortable with settled in between them. There wasn't much to say anymore, he felt like. His eyes curiously landed on her wall of papers and spotted the notes he gave her a long time ago pinned against it. A fluttery feeling encompassed his chest—he never knew they meant that much to her. If those kinds of little things made her feel better, he would write a million for her.

The fluttery feeling he felt quickly turned into raging fireworks when he felt something bump onto his shoulder. The smell of vanilla immediately seized his senses, making him a little bit dizzy as he breathed. Her soft hair tickled his neck as Kairi laid her head on his shoulder, silent and unmoving. A thousand questions exploded in his mind as he focused his eyes onto a random piece of paper that was on her floor. If Sora didn't tell his body to remain calm, he swore he was going to start breathing raggedly.

"Is it another spider?" he said in a gentle whisper. He did not dare to move an inch.

"… Yeah."

The only thing Sora could hear was his heart drumming like crazy as he naturally laid the side of his face on top of her head _._ He always got intimate with Namine whenever he got sad, so why was his heart racing a million miles per hour when he was with the redhead? _I shouldn't be feeling this way._

"Sora…"

"Yes?"

"I'll tell you. I'll tell you about myself. Because I trust you."

~.~.~

Roxas watched as Namine kept her eyes strictly on her book. Something was up with her; she was grouchier than usual. Currently in the library after school, Roxas had practice canceled for the day. Right before he was about to head home, Namine suddenly wanted to hang out in the library. Seeing no harm to it since it had been a while since they hung out together alone, he went along with her, but he had no idea why Namine seemed so uptight. He sighed and wondered where Sora was—he had a hard time dealing with Namine alone.

"Where's Sora?" he asked, deciding to just voice his thoughts.

"I don't know."

Okay, something was definitely bothering her. "Why do you ask? Do I always have to be with him?"

"No reason," Roxas said, a bit careful with his words now. "His company would be nice right now too."

"Not really."

"Something the matter?" Roxas tried not to visibly show his discomfort when Namine snapped her book shut and pinched her eyebrows together.

"Sorry, I'm just a bit stressed."

"Want to talk about it?"

"No, it's just that… I've been stuck in an uncomfortable situation lately." When Namine glared at Roxas from across the table, he had a feeling that he knew what she was talking about.

"Is Riku bothering you?" He remembered how she suddenly screamed at him at lunch a few days ago. He didn't know why though. "What did he do?"

"He's just being Riku, saying stuff that he shouldn't say," she answered. Roxas couldn't help but feel like she wasn't telling him everything, but he didn't want to question anymore. "Are you really bent on not talking to him? It's been almost two whole weeks, Roxas. Sora really misses you. Since you guys are both in sports this season, there's never time to hang out with each other anymore." At this, Roxas's lips formed a grim line.

"I'd rather not speak to him," he said, tapping a finger on his watch mindlessly. "He… offended me in a way, and I don't want to see him until something changes with him." For some reason, Namine looked more uncomfortable the more he explained his issue. "Has Sora done anything?"

"You know him," she snorted. "Doesn't want to fight with his best friend. You shouldn't put any faith in him. He's too busy trying to fulfill the role of being a ball of sunshine society has assigned him—he won't do anything about it." Roxas wasn't too sure about that. He had seen how Sora accidentally glared at Riku before during lunch before when he passed by, just for a second. But he didn't want to argue with Namine—he'll just let the future events show her.

"You've been with Riku since middle school along with Sora, right? Do you even know how he even became like that?"

"Oh, so you know he was different before?"

"If he wasn't, I would question why you guys are friends with him," Roxas mused. "He must've been something for Sora to call him 'best friend.'" Namine shrugged.

"I don't really know what happened to him, and neither does Sora." Again, Roxas felt like she wasn't explaining everything to him. And again, he wasn't going to question it. Taking out his phone to check the time—his watch was just for show, sadly—Roxas accidentally took out his handkerchief that Kairi gave him too. Namine raised an eyebrow at it, seeing how his name was etched in cursive at the bottom corner.

"That's a pretty handkerchief. Did you get it custom made?"

Roxas quizzical held it up from the table. "This?"

"Wow, what other handkerchief can I be talking about?" Namine bit back sarcastically, a small smile on her face. Roxas felt the handkerchief, something he oddly carried around with him every day even when he didn't use it because he wanted to appreciate the gift, and shook his head.

"I didn't get this made. A friend made it for me," he explained, playing with the soft material on the table.

"Xion? She sure has skilled hands."

"Oh, no, it's not Xion. Haha, the world would end if Xion could ever do anything with her clumsy hands." Her cooking was very questionable. "Kairi made this for me."

Every single time he spoke, Roxas wondered what he was doing wrong. Was he saying something he shouldn't be saying? Because every time he answered Namine's questions, her mood seemed to visibly get a tad bit worse. Today really wasn't her day. Namine rarely showed her attitude like this—she was a nice and kind girl. Maybe causing a problem with Riku was putting too much stress on her…

Before she could say anything, mentioned redhead suddenly called him on his phone. This startled Roxas quite a bit—the redhead never called him. Ever. Heck, they didn't even text or talk to each other outside of school.

"Hold on," he said, giving a small, apologetic smile to Namine before he answered the phone. "Uh… What's up, Kairi?" Roxas was too occupied to notice how Namine ran a shaky hand through her hair.

"Sorry… I just want to ask something… it might be personal," her soft voice said over the line. Roxas tilted his chair back, a bad habit he had, and hung onto the table by touching his foot underneath it.

"Something personal? I'm scared now," he chuckled. He mouthed a "sorry" at Namine for being in a middle of a call. She simply smiled and waved a hand, signaling that it was okay. "Shoot me."

"Your mother… is her name Yunah?" This made Roxas drop his chair violently back onto the floor, shocking Namine. He clutched his phone tighter, and it was honestly one of the first times Namine witnessed him outside of his calm and collected character.

"Yes, that's my mom's name. How'd you know?"

"I was visiting my… mom. And as I was walking towards her, I saw a family picture on another yeah and recognized you in it."

"Ah, that's why," Roxas calmed down a bit as he ran rubbed the back of his neck. "You bumped into her grave by chance, huh?"

"I called because I wanted permission from you to pay my respects to her. Is that okay? I mean, I would feel wrong if I didn't, so…" At the oddest time ever, Roxas started to get emotional—no one has ever bothered to pay respects to his mother besides him and his father from time to time. But he couldn't blame anyone—he never took anyone there ever. Not even Axel or Xion. It represented the saddest times of his life. He laughed a little bit before he nodded. However, realizing how Kairi couldn't see that, he answered her verbally.

"Of course. I hope you don't tell her anything bad about me though," he chuckled. "No, it's not strange at all. It just shows how you… _care._ Thank you. Alright. I hope you had a pleasant visit with your own mom too. Bye." He ended the call and looked up to meet Namine's curious gaze. _Oh no._

"Your mom's… grave?"

Roxas uncomfortably pulled at the collar of his shirt with a finger before forcing a smile.

"Kairi coincidentally stumbled upon it. My mom passed away a long time ago, so don't give me that sad look."

"I never knew that." _It's because I never told you._

"Well, not a lot of people know," Roxas simply said, categorizing her as the general. He didn't know how much this affected Namine. "It's nothing much to know anyway."

"Ah, okay…"

Roxas gave her a small smile, signaling the end of the topic. Namine respected his privacy and slowly re-opened her book, returning back to the silence of the library. Roxas mentally sighed.

 _I'm sorry, Namine._

And then he thought about Sora as well. _I'm sorry, Sora._

Everyone always thought he was the calm and collected one, mature no matter where he was or what he faced. The perfect guy, the most reliable. Unfortunately, they were all wrong. There was nothing special about him.

Roxas Fair was just emotionally dead.

~.~.~

Riku lifted the weights in his room robotically, mind blank as he did his daily work-out at home. The soft music that played in the background was the only thing that encompassed his mind as he lifted his arm up and down, up and down. On his desk in front of him stood two pictures. One picture showed him, Sora, and Namine standing together in front of an amusement park they went together in seventh grade. The other was a photo of the gang—Sora, Namine, Roxas, and even Xion and Axel—at Roxas's fifteenth birthday party at a restaurant. A huge birthday cake bordered with sparkling candles sat in the center of the table while huge smiles worn on everyone's faces.

When he was done with his workout, he unraveled his hair out of its long ponytail and took his shirt off to enter the shower. There, he let the warm water cleanse him.

When he came out of the shower with towel wrapped around his lower body, he went over to his desk and looked at the photos with a small smile. He then went to his closet to pull out a regular white tee and black sweatpants to wear. Launching himself onto his bed, he placed an arm behind his head as he stared at his popcorn ceiling. He closed his eyes.

 _You, Riku, are a big wimp who tries to act all tough and big just so that people won't bully your weak self._

"You always know where to hit to make it hurt, don't you, Namine?" he chuckled darkly as he covered his eyes with his other arm. "What a God-given talent."

But he didn't care. As long as Sora still accepted him for who he was, he didn't care about what he had to do to guard himself, even if it was bad.

 _Kairi Lockhart._

The girl who made him realize how the world was just a harsh place.

~.~.~

Sora angrily swiped his desk clean of all papers as a way to vent his emotions out.

"Fucking hell!"

He just let himself go in his room as thoughts about everything just swirled in his mind like a horrible locust swarm. He had enough. He just had enough.

All this time, and he never knew. No one knew. The world remained passive and indifferent. It really did suck, this place.

That was when Sora couldn't take it anymore.

 _It's not okay to play the passive game anymore._

 _It's not okay to pretend that everything's okay when it's not._

 _It's time to do what's right._

It was then that Sora made his decision.

He wasn't going to smile everything off anymore.

* * *

Annnnd here's another update hehe. Nothing much to say besides apologizing for a shorter-than-usual chapter. I wanted to write more, but decided that it would best fit into the next chapter so look out for that one! Anyway, I hope things are getting more spicier! (If it's not, I'm seriously failing at my job LOL) The gears are starting to roll in this fic (at least I hope I can make them roll) so...! Honestly, I hope everyone who hasn't reviewed and is still reading this is seriously enjoying this fic as much as I do writing it!

Much love as always:

 **HoPe-BriNgeR1:** Lol data riku in that TGS trailer got me shook too... And read to find out if there is redemption for Riku ho ho ho... And omg, I feel the same way about the identicals meeting each other (Sora with Van and Roxas with Ven) HAHAHA I laughed at your Sonic reference tbh omg. A small part of me is thinking that Kairi might not even have an enough important role to meet everyone, but cross fingers and hope I jinx myself about this HAHAHA

 **Ima Nonyme:** Haha, if I had Sora as a friend, the last thing I would appreciate is unwelcomed visits too HAHA. And omg your dialogues always confuse me one way or another XDDD

 **Yurosoku:** Branching out is always the fun part (since I get tired of writing about the same two characters all the time omg). Glad you love every chapter *phew* And yes, I'm an updating machine since I have nothing else to do but write!

 **Q-A the Authoress:** Very bad :^))))

 **nick00712:** I hope more things fall in place the more you read hohoho And thank you!

 **CamboLambos:** Yay, glad it's an awesome story! I'm sorry, I wish I could make these chapters endless but... Physically impossible HAHAHA :))) I'll definitely expand more on everyone so be on the look out! And Lol updates are only quick because I'm on vacay, so please don't be disappointed if you don't see an update in like a whole three weeks or something LOL

 **Corogane:** I'm sorry LOL The endings just have to happen man


	14. Chapter 14

Kairi slowly but carefully placed the bouquet of peach roses onto her mother's grave, knowing they were always her favorite. She knelt down in front of the grave and looked at the epitaph that was engraved onto the headstone.

 _Her gentle and musical smile that lit up the world._

Kairi hadn't visited her mother in two years.

"I'm sorry, Mom," Kairi said, voice cracking a bit as she looked at the small picture of her mother on the headstone. "I'm sorry for not visiting. I just…" Kairi didn't want to say it out loud, but if her mother had been watching over her for the past three years, she would know the reason why.

Kairi was too ashamed. Too embarrassed. Too afraid.

If her mother could see the state she and her father was in right now, the last thing she would be is happy. _I'm sorry._ But there was a reason why she chose today to visit—a reason why she finally came here after two years.

"I still blame myself for what happened to you," Kairi sobbed as she touched the headstone, desperately trying to feel the warmth of her mother through the cold, hard stone. "If only we didn't go biking that day… I'm sorry, Mom."

Kairi quickly wiped her tears and cleared her throat—she didn't come here to cry, even if she wanted to. Crying wasn't going to make her mom come back.

 _The past stays in the past; it doesn't really follow you too much in the future unless you let it._

Remembering Roxas's words, Kairi closed her eyes and made her resolve.

 _Surprisingly, Mom, my life isn't too lonely anymore. Kind people have made their way into it, and they're making all the darkness from the past go away, little by little. Of course, I'm still scarred about many things that has happened, but I feel like it's getting better. Maybe not a lot yet, but the future is very big._

 _Also, I have something to tell you, Mom. I made a friend… His name is Sora, and he is the one who made everything possible. He kickstarted everything, and I'm so grateful for everything he has done for me. His own enthusiasm and determination of making things better for me made me realize one thing: he can't be the one doing everything._

 _Mom… I came to tell you that I'm ready—I'm ready to move on. I want to change the way I live because I don't want to live like this anymore—for Dad to live like this anymore. I swear I'm going to do something about it, little by little, so that we can live a happier life without the scars of the past reopening. It might take a long time, and it might take forever, but I'm determined to rebuild everything that was broken three years ago and everything that was broken twelve years ago. This is all because I realized something._

 _My life is still beautiful._

~.~.~

Namine was in the middle of talking to Roxas about her math homework before the first class of the day started when Kairi appeared from the corner, walking to her class in a less rushed state than before.

"Wait, hold up, Namine," Roxas said before he took a few side steps to intercept Kairi's path. Having spotted the two of them, Kairi had slowed down her pace so that she could say hi to both of them.

"Good morning," she said to Roxas. She then looked at Namine and managed a small smile. "Hi, Namine."

"Morning. I have a lot of questions for you," Roxas replied back as he adorned a small smirk. Kairi didn't notice how Namine failed to greet her back.

"Questions?" Kairi said, eyebrows furrowing as she gave him a quizzical look. "What kind of questions?"

Roxas formed a phone with his hand and put it to his ear. "What you mentioned on the phone last week. What did you gossip about with my mom?" Kairi's mouth opened as she let out a silent "ah" before she laughed nervously and tucked a few strands of hair behind her ears. Before she could say anything, a loud slam of the lockers was heard right next to her. The blond and the redhead pulled their attention over to Namine, who had a hold on the handle of the locker that she just slammed violently closed.

"I'm going to go now," she said cooly. Roxas raised an eyebrow and checked the time on his phone.

"Where to? Class doesn't start for another fifteen minutes."

"I'm just going to review my math homework. It seemed hard yesterday." Namine forced a painful smile as she gave the two a wave and quickly went on her way, disappearing immediately around the corner. Roxas bit the bottom of his lip a bit as he watched the last of her blonde hair vanish before he sighed. Kairi casted her eyes onto the ground.

"Roxas…"

"Yeah?" he turned back around to face her. "What's wrong?"

"Does Namine not like me?"

Roxas shot both his eyebrows up, a bit astonished by Kairi's straightforward question. "Geez, what makes you say that?" He shook his head to make his point clearer. "Of course not. She's not that type of person. Lately, she's been in an unhappy mood because of, uh, certain _situations._ " Kairi didn't ask for a detailed explanation as she sucked her lips in. If what Roxas said was true, something must've bothered Namine ever since they met, for Namine never seemed to be in a positive mood whenever Kairi saw her.

 _I hope it doesn't have anything to do with me._

Namine slammed her math textbook a little bit harsher than she intended to as she sat in her seat. Propping an elbow up on the table and placing a hand on her forehead, Namine breathed in and out, in and out.

 _You don't like it, do you? Everything was fine, wasn't it? Until the redhead suddenly popped into the picture._

"Don't be like this, Namine," she muttered to herself as she stared at her desk. "Don't let Riku and his words affect you." However, she couldn't help it; there was almost no way of stopping jealousy once it has started to grow. Namine tortured herself as she recalled the smile on Roxas's face whenever he saw Kairi and the way he seemed to enjoy her company so much. And not only that—they seem to be close to each other too to share private parts of their lives.

Kairi, the weird freak that haunted the school, managed to touch the heart of a person Namine could've never reached. _Ugh, stop it._

Namine felt a hand on her head. She swiftly looked up to see a concerned Sora looking at her.

"Hey, you okay?" Sora settled all his things down on the ground as he took the seat next to her. He then half-turned in his seat so that he could face her, elbows on knees.

Namine nodded slowly. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just a bit stressed."

"The math homework last night was kind of hard," Sora replied, testing the waters if math was the one bothering her.

"Yeah, it was."

Nope, math wasn't the one bothering her.

Sora reached a hand to clear up the hair that was all over her face as she stared down at the table and put it behind an ear. "Why so gloomy, idiot?"

"Don't call me an idiot," Namine snapped, giving him a side glare. Sora gave her a small smile.

"You still have energy in you. That's a good sign." Sora patted her on the shoulder, gave her some space, and turned back into his seat. Not wanting him to worry about her too much, Namine turned towards him this time.

"How have you been though?"

"Alright. Just a bit tired these days."

Namine frowned. She had to leaned out of her seat so that she could see more of Sora's face.

He gave her a raised brow. "Something the matter?"

"I'll ask you again. How have you been nowadays?"

"… I've been okay. Just tired." This sounded more like a question than a statement. He didn't understand what Namine was truly asking.

Namine froze.

Sora's smile—or lack of—failed to light up the room.

When his expression of confusion remained unchanging, Namine laughed nervously and retreated back to her seat.

"That's good. Yeah." Namine went back to staring at her notebook as the bell rang, signaling the start of class. Her head spun more than it did five minutes ago. Sora always responded gave her a cheerful response no matter what.

This time, he didn't.

~.~.~

"So you just kind of hang around here or the library during lunch?" Roxas asked as he sat on a bench with Kairi. She had to finish chewing her food before she answered.

"Yeah."

"Alone?"

"Most of the time, yeah. But Xion joined me the other time," Kairi said, a small smile forming as she remembered that day. "Having someone to eat lunch with feels different. This time, it's with you."

"Having someone to eat lunch with should be normal," Roxas sighed as he watched the redhead swing her legs above the ground. "Where the hell is Sora? Does he not join you?" At the mention of Sora, Kairi let out a hum of thought before she answered.

"Not really."

"So he never joined you for lunch before?"

"He did. Once." Kairi started to remember the time when they coincidentally bumped into each other in the library—the day where he first gave her his number. Another smile formed on her face as she recounted that memory. "In the library. When we first met."

"That is a long time ago. What the heck is he doing?"

"He has his own friends," Kairi said, giving Roxas the same answer she gave to Xion. "I understand."

"But you're his friend too, aren't you?" And Roxas gave Kairi the same response Xion did. "Xion and I have our own friends too—eleven others, actually—but here we are." She shrugged, not seeing the issue about it.

"It's okay. It doesn't bother me." Kairi continued to eat her lunch as Roxas sighed at the redhead once more before finishing his own lunch.

"Anyway, you still haven't answered my question. How was the visit to my mom? I'm curious," he reminded her. Kairi tinted a bit in embarrassment as she let out a cute sound of complaint.

"Nothing much. I just told her how you're a good son."

"And?" And then Roxas quickly said the next thing. "You know, when I'm asking you about it, I'm actually just joking. You don't have to tell me anything, since it's a private thing."

Kairi smiled. "I know. No, it's okay, I'll tell you. I told her how you're doing very good at school… and have nice friends. And that you seem to be happy and to be doing very well. And that you're a very good friend to have. You're like… the big brother I never had. Just general things like that. Nothing big." Of course, there were more personal, deep things, but Kairi was too shy to say all of it.

"Big brother?" Roxas chuckled. "We're the same age. What month are you born in?"

"January."

"Yup, you're older by a few months. So much for the big brother thing."

"You get the idea."

"Yeah."

The two fell into a silence as Roxas contemplated the words Kairi said. All of it sounded too good to be true. Was he really what she described? He didn't feel it within himself. Was he really doing well? He didn't feel it. He wished he felt it.

"Even you kind of view me like that, huh?" Roxas chuckled as he leaned his back against the bench. "I wish everything you said was true." At this, Kairi settled down her spoon and looked at him. He had mentioned something like this before.

"Want to talk about it?" Kairi asked, her voice getting quiet as she began to tread unknown territory. She probably wasn't the best person for her to confide in—he had so many other friends that could do the same—but he surprised her by saying a few things that were on his mind.

"It's nothing much, but I feel very… _disconnected_. If you know what I mean. It's just that," Roxas rubbed the back of his head uncomfortably. He never really talked about these issues to anybody. Xion and Axel kind of had an idea, but he never wanted to bother them about it. "Everyone compliments me on things like, I don't know, my maturity and stuff."

"Are they wrong?"

"I believe so. You know what I think about this? It's not that I'm mature or anything. It's just that, I'm very indifferent already." Kairi didn't find any of this surprising. Since the beginning, she already knew he was indifferent to many things, but she didn't know why. "After my mother's death, I just found myself unreactive to many things. Didn't really care much about what happened around me. I shut myself out, kept my wall up. People take that as maturity, which it isn't. I want to correct people, but what's the point?"

Kairi couldn't help but relate to what he was saying. Mornings were tough, and it made her feel dead and robotic from time to time.

"Roxas…"

"It's my own defense mechanism," Roxas continued to explain more. He was starting to just spout things without thinking as he let his wall fall before Kairi. "I became emotionally dead towards many things. I believe that if I do that, I won't have to experience the feelings I felt when my mom died. I won't have to experience the pain or the emotions that made my life horrible. If I don't care, then I won't feel it. I'm not mature, or calm, or collected—I just don't care. I'm just… cold."

That was the reason why he didn't want to get close to Namine. He wouldn't be good for her. He remembered how Sora kept saying how he was the perfect guy—perfect for any girl. He was wrong. Roxas wouldn't be. He didn't want to hurt her with his indifference. He didn't want to hurt her because of his inability to feel for things. He had almost let his wall down for her when he first met her. Namine was so brilliant, and the vast number of things they had in common was incredible, but he couldn't.

Roxas couldn't allow her in. He would eventually hurt her.

When he realized what he just spilled on the redhead, he grew ashamed and pursed his lips into a thin line. "I'm sorry."

When she didn't say anything, he began to feel more ashamed, but what she did next shocked him immensely.

Slowly, Kairi reached her hand towards Roxas's and clasped it gently as a form of comfort. His head quickly whipped towards her. She definitely didn't look okay from physically touching him, but Roxas knew she was just putting up with it. He could feel herself holding her hand back from trembling.

"You're not cold," she said in a shaky voice. "You're not, so don't say that."

"Kairi…"

"We're both people who were, and still are, hurting from the past. Didn't you say it to me before, that the past doesn't really follow you into the future unless you allow it to?" Kairi teared up as she felt for Roxas. "The past still haunts you too, doesn't it?"

"I…"

Kairi held his fingers tighter as she breathed out raggedly.

"Let's go together, Roxas. We'll work together. We'll work and move forward—move forward to a future where we don't have to battle with ourselves anymore. A future where we don't have to hurt anymore. Together we can step forward to realize this wish, so please. Okay?"

 _Hi, Mrs. Fair. I know that this is strange since you don't know me at all, but I just wanted to pay my respects and tell you that Roxas is doing well. He's working very hard in his studies and his extracurriculars while enjoying his time with many good friends that care about him a lot. I got to meet him because of a history project, but we got to know each other more because of how much he has helped me with his kind words._

 _He told me a little bit about you before you went away. It seems like he is facing the future very well, but I still can't help but feel like he still misses you the same, even after all these years. But that's okay. I believe Roxas can make it. I admire how you were able to raise such a great son. I might not be the right person to say this, but I really believe that Roxas will continue to grow up and become an amazing person that you can be proud of. So please continue to watch over him like you always have. I'm sure you won't be disappointed._

 _After all, he's indifferent, chill, and calm._

~.~.~

Riku first met Sora in sixth grade through a game of soccer. Whenever the boys played soccer, he would be the last one to get picked. He wasn't good or athletic like the rest, so no one wanted him in any of their teams.

"Sora, pick your first teammate!"

The young spiky-haired brunet gazed upon the choices that were available and confidently made his decision.

"Riku! Come here, dude, you're on my team."

That was how their friendship first started.

Despite Riku's quietness, Sora never deterred from his decision to get closer to the silver-haired boy. It just happened so suddenly that Riku never could remember when it started. It just naturally happened. Lunches weren't lonely anymore, and time after school was something to actually look forward too. Somehow, Sora squeezed into Riku's daily life unnoticed, and Riku didn't hate it one bit.

And even though there was an unbreakable bond between Sora and Namine, Riku never felt excluded in their activities. Sora was good at making sure he treated the two of them equally, never showing favoritism whenever all three hung out. At first, Riku had a hard time getting along with the both of them, since they were outgoing while he was quiet and introverted. However, Sora was just a happy virus—a very contagious one too. Soon, he found himself laughing and joking around as if they were best buds. And they did become best buds.

However, they never became close enough for Riku to talk about his first crush.

And they never became close enough for Sora to know the reason why Riku suddenly changed in high school.

"Why is everyone so quiet today?" Riku muttered underneath his breath. The three of them uncomfortably sat in a table void of Roxas for the third week. "It's making me uncomfortable."

"I don't know, Riku, maybe because everything's not in tip-top shape right now. That's why," Namine attacked, really irritated that Riku didn't seem to admit any fault to this. She felt Sora's finger on her thigh, telling her to not get too flared up. Namine simply let out a breath to calm herself before she placed her chin on her palm.

"Riku, I know I said this before, but how about talking to Roxas? Here, I'm not blaming you for it, but just talk about it," Sora tried for the nth time, this time not putting the blame on the silver-haired boy just to have an easier time persuading him. "I think you both need a talk."

"How come you guys keep badgering me about it? What about Roxas?" Riku said with a huge frown. "It's like I'm the bad guy here who needs to apologize first."

"It's not about who's the bad guy anymore. This problem just needs to get solved," Namine hissed. She felt another tap on the thigh by Sora and shut up.

"We tried talking to Roxas too, but yeah. Why not be the better guy and approach him first?"

"No, I don't want to."

"Fine." Sora took his tray and shouldered his backpack. The two pairs of eyes looked up at him questioningly.

"Where are you going this time? Are you going for another breather?" Riku smirked. "From what?"

"From you," Sora deadpanned, staring Riku straight in the eye. Both Riku and Namine's eyes couldn't get any bigger as they stared at the person who seemed to look like Sora. "I need a breather from both of you."

"Sora, what are you saying?" Riku chuckled, trying to laugh it off. "Did you wake up on the wrong side of the bed this morning?" The Sora they both knew wouldn't come off as cold and direct like this. Where was the smile? Where was the laughter?

"I mean exactly what I said. I'll give you guys three choices. Either tell me what the problem is so that I can help you fix it, fix it yourself, or watch me leave the table." When the two of them failed to respond, Sora frustratingly ran a hand through his hair. "I guess it's option three. I'm not gonna sit here until you guys get your shit fixed."

Riku was too stupefied to react, but Namine was quick on her feet. She quickly packed all her things, dumped her tray of food, and caught up to Sora who was about to exit the cafeteria.

"Sora, wait!" The two of them entered the empty halls of lockers as Namine grabbed onto the crook of Sora's elbow. She stopped him in his movements, causing him to half-turn around.

"Yes?" He didn't smile at her, which made Namine's heart race quicker out of anxiety.

"Sora, tell me. What's wrong? Why are you like this?" she said so desperately and swiftly that Sora had a hard time deciphering what she was saying. "Did something happen?"

"Yeah, something did happen. The issue between Riku and Roxas—that is what happened."

"That can't be the reason why you're like this? Sora, talk to me. Tell me what's wrong and we'll—"

"I already told you what's wrong!" Sora gently shrugged her arm off so that he could turn and face her completely. "I'm tired of all this tension that's been hanging around us. You seem to be in a foul mood all the time now, snapping at me out of nowhere here and there when I'm just asking if you're okay. You aren't even telling me what's wrong. And Riku—you know what his problem is. It's about time something gets done."

"I'm sorry for getting irritated at you," Namine apologized. "And I understand that Riku's been getting out of hand lately with his attitude, but I'm just confused. What else happened to make you like this? This is so unlike you. You usually don't act so mean like this."

Sora couldn't help but laugh sardonically at this. Namine couldn't feel greater anxiety as Sora gave her a morbid look.

"Seriously? Are you actually saying this to me?"

"Sora, please."

"You said it yourself so many times before, and you hit me real hard with what you told me over text just a week or two ago. You didn't like it whenever I held it in. You told me you knew me, but at the same time you didn't. You told me you didn't like how I just laughed and smiled everything off, trying to ignore the problem as if it's not there. Is this not what you said?"

"It is," she admitted hesitantly. Sora threw his hands up in the air, mocking defeat.

"I'm doing what you told me to do—to just be myself. I am being myself for the first time ever. I'm tired of our friend circle just breaking apart over whatever small issue that has been going on lately, so I'm just doing what a normal person is doing—facing it head on. Addressing it. Getting mad about it. Wow, Sora Hikari gets mad, what a damn shocker."

"Sora, I know you," Namine tried. "I know you actually wouldn't deal with situations with such anger like this, so—"

"Oh, so _now_ you know me? You suddenly know everything about me now even after you just told me how you didn't know me at all?"

"Sora—"

"Which part of me do you want, Namine?" he exasperated, too spurred to even allow her a chance to talk. "When I'm fake, you hate it. When I'm myself, you hate it, so which part do you not hate? This is who I am. When you hate both parts, you basically hate everything about me."

"Sora, you definitely know that that is not how I feel," Namine said, voice sterner this time as she watched Sora spout groundless accusations. "I do not hate you."

"Well, Namine, I don't know," Sora suddenly said in a low voice, a pained expression on his face now. "I don't want a huge fight between us. Right now, the only thing I want is things to get fixed. I don't want our friends to continue drifting apart, so please."

Sora didn't wait for her answer as he stalked off towards his class, leaving Namine to watch his back grow smaller dumbfoundedly.

~.~.~

Riku could lose any friend, from the ones he gossiped with in the halls or the ones he goofed around with in class. Any of them, they could just disappear from his life, and he wouldn't bat an eyelash. However, if Sora were to ever turn his back to him, Riku was sure he would get broken.

So when Sora failed to laugh and smile at him on that day during lunch, Riku felt panic for the first time in a while. Sora was the one friend he couldn't lose. The one friend who took him in and accepted him for who he was for all these years until now. Before he went to talk to Roxas, he had to talk to Sora first.

After school, the two boys met behind the school, a place where no one really went to unless private talks needed to be made.

"If you don't mind, please make it quick. I have practice in thirty minutes," Sora said, this time voice sounding normal and not aggressive. He gave a small smile to the silver-haired boy. "My coach will kill me if I'm late."

"Yeah, sure," Riku said, afraid of the spiky-haired brunet. It was ironic—everyone believed that Sora was the last person to ever be afraid of, but right now, he was like a time-ticking bomb to Riku. "I'm sorry about the whole issue I've had with Roxas. I dragged you and Namine into it."

"I'm happy you're telling me this, but I wish you could say this to Roxas," Sora said with a small sigh. Riku nodded at this.

"I will, I will. I'll talk to him, so… don't be angry." Riku awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck, feeling a bit of himself from middle school returning. The weak and meek character he wanted to erase—it was coming back.

"Is it alright if I ask what happened between the two of you? Amazing how this is the third week and I still have no idea what's going on," Sora laughed, making the atmosphere between them incredibly better. Riku laughed along, but inside, he didn't want to say. Sometimes, he would spot Sora and Kairi together after school when they had their little chit-chat, but he never dared to interrupt them. The last time he did, Sora nearly showed his irritation, so Riku never did it again.

 _But maybe if I say it nicely, he would understand._

"Roxas just didn't like me saying some stuff." Riku hoped Sora wouldn't question any further than that.

"Wow, what did you say to tick him off? Roxas is a hard guy to tick off, don't you think?" The usual Sora smile was back, but Riku had an impending feeling of doom that it was going to disappear the moment Sora heard what he was going to say next.

"I was just… talking about Kairi to a couple of a friends," he confessed. Under Sora's gaze, Riku could feel his past self from middle school just rushing back. "Roxas didn't like what I said."

"What did you say?" Sora questioned sharply. Instead of answering, Riku began to justify himself in a panicked state, which never ended good.

"Did you know Kairi went to our middle school? I feel like you never knew."

"I found out last week," Sora answered, a brow raised as he listened to Riku do everything but not answer his question. "Why?"

"Sora, don't get angry at me, but don't you think she's a freak?" Riku laughed, trying to get Sora to be in sync with his thinking. "I never told you this before, but she's the one who made me like this." When Sora didn't say anything, Riku knew he was just waiting for him to finish his explanation. That was what he always did like about Sora—he only jumped to conclusions after he felt like he had enough to do so. "She embarrassed me. She taught me what humiliation felt like, and how this society is just a big bully. People laughed at me because of her. It made me realize that to avoid being crushed by people, you have to crush them first.

"She's so weird, I can't help but pick on her. Why can't she change? Like, society doesn't want people like her, so why is she like that? I just get irritated whenever I see her. Don't you agree with me, Sora? Isn't she weird? I just don't get what her problem is—stop being a freak and people won't hate you. Easy as that. She—"

"Shut up." Riku instantly stopped talking when Sora's chilling demand rang in the air. "I've heard enough, Riku."

"But—"

"Was I supposed to understand your story?" Sora asked, voice reverting back to the iciness he showed during lunch. "Was I supposed to sympathize with it? Because I'm feeling nothing for you right now, Riku."

"Sora—"

"I could understand the fear of society part," Sora interrupted again, "And by no means am I undermining your trauma and why it caused you to be who you are today, but am I supposed to accept how you just trashed Kairi like that? How you used her to create such an unjustified story and how you used her as a scapegoat for all your actions up until now."

"I'm not trashing her. I'm just—"

"Riku, yes, you are! Why are you dragging someone innocent and trying to paint her as a villain for your problems? And to dare call her a freak and weirdo numerous times in front of my face—what is wrong with you?"

"But she is weird! Her fear of men, it's all strange! Are you trying to tell me to accept such a thing as a norm? And eighth grade. I don't know how you never knew about her in middle school, but she just turned crazy in eighth grade. Is it so hard to act normal? In eighth grade, she—"

"Riku, in eighth grade, she lost her fucking mom!"

A deadly silence cut the air between them in just one slash.

Sora's chest heaved to recollect the breath he just let out in his scream. He glared at Riku with an animosity that Riku has never experienced from the ball of sunshine before.

"W-wha?" Riku stuttered dumbly, as if not understanding what he just said. Sora rubbed a hand across his lower face as he calmed down.

"Riku, she lost her mom during that time," Sora said, this time low and slowly. "The time where all of you guys bullied her. The time you described her as being a freak. The time you hated her for not being normal. That was the time she lost one of the most important people in her life."

Sora re-adjusted his backpack straps and his duffel strap. It was as if they were suffocating him as he told Riku the truth.

"I understand you have your own problem, but there are other people in the world who suffer more than you. People around you who deal with so much more than you think they do. Open your eyes, Riku—there are so many people hurting because of reasons so much bigger than yours. Again, I'm not saying your issue is insignificant, but I just wish you understood that everyone has their own story that you need to understand and listen to instead of judging them by how they look and behave on the outside. Kairi… has dealt with a lot, and if you can't respect that," Sora swallowed the huge lump that lodged in his throat, "then I don't think I can be friends with you."

Emotionally overloading, Sora shook his head to affirm his statement and turned around, not wanting to look at Riku nor hear what he had to say anymore. Fighting with two of his closest friends today, Sora didn't turn back around for Riku either.

Riku simply remained frozen, watching Sora's back shrink just like how Namine did.

* * *

Yaaay update! I'll just say it: I honestly just winged this chapter. Something I need to work on is writing drama in fics lol... I have no idea what I'm writing at this point ha ha ha I hope it makes sense.

Just moved into my new apartment in college-I blame college for making me have extreme writer's block and producing this chapter that I'm sadly not proud of haha... But yeah, again, hopefully you guys liked this chapter. Honestly, tell me what you guys think about this chapter (I believe this chapter is where the plot really rises, so...) Reviews for this chapter specifically would be very appreciated cause ha ha ha very insecure about this one

I watched the views for my chapters (THEY'RE ALL STEADY SO I'M SO HAPPY *TEARS OF JOY*) So thank you silent readers!


	15. Chapter 15

"I said I don't want breakfast!" her father barked. Grabbing the nearest object, which was another bottle of ketchup, he threw it at her, and this time, it hit its mark. Kairi cupped her cheek in pain, bottle having struck her right on the face. He looked a bit guilty, not expecting it to actually hit, before he retreated to the living room to calm himself down. Kairi slowly bent down to pick up the bottle of ketchup and placed it back on the table before she herself went back upstairs to see the damage.

She could already tell there was going to be a bruise when she looked at herself in the mirror.

"Darn it," she muttered, already knowing what to do. Going to her room, Kairi got her foundation and went back to the bathroom to apply it.

She needed to have a heart-to-heart conversation with her father soon, or else they'll never go anywhere. However, Kairi didn't know when and how to—she was too scared. Would she even be able to go across him? Would her efforts be in vain? She didn't know.

When everything blended in perfectly, Kairi put it away and quickly exited the house to go to school.

~.~.~

"Well, this is odd." Roxas blinked to make sure he was looking at the right lunch table before he let out a thoughtful hum. "No one's sitting there. I wonder what the heck happened."

"What's wrong?" Kairi followed the line of his sight, wondering why he was staring at that specific table.

"That's where Sora, Riku, and Namine sit," he explained, feeling his chin with his hand as his mind went through all possible reasons why there wasn't anyone there. Coming up with nothing, he let his hand fall and shrugged. "Something must've happened."

"Ah…" Wondering what Sora could be up to during lunch, Kairi hoped everything was alright. After their talk two weeks ago, he had suddenly started acting differently. It wasn't too different—his cheerful personality never went away when he was with her and it wasn't as if he distanced himself away either (something she was extremely glad for). The two haven't had the time to talk to each other much or hang out since it was the season for tests, but nothing really changed between them. However, something did change within him—something Kairi couldn't exactly pinpoint.

"Hey, hey, hey, where are you going?" Roxas side-stepped to block her path when Kairi turned around to exit the cafeteria.

"Um, to the library?" She had only intended to walk with Roxas to the cafeteria; she had no plans to be in it though. She blinked at him, silently questioning why he was blocking her path. When she took a step to her right, he took a step to his left to continue blocking her. He then smiled and shook his head.

"Come and meet my other friends," he grinned. Immediately, Kairi shook her head. The whole "Organization XIII" concept he had with his friends already intimidated her enough; she didn't need to meet them on top of that.

"No, thank you," she politely but sternly said, head still shaking. She clutched her books to her chest and tried to get out of Roxas's way again, but he predicted her move every time.

"Why not? C'mon, what happened to the whole 'moving forward together' stuff you told me last week?" Roxas teased, causing Kairi to blush in embarrassment. "Come, come, it'll be a good experience for you to meet other people. Overcome your shyness. I doubt you talk to people outside of me or Sora anyway."

"That is not true."

"Xion doesn't count. You guys only have on-the-surface chatter. That doesn't count. Let's go."

Roxas didn't give Kairi a choice as he went ahead and walked forward, leaving Kairi to reluctantly follow behind him.

When they reached the table, the both of them didn't except Sora to be laughing his head off with Axel.

"Dude, you literally—oh my God, why haven't I met you earlier?" Sora guffawed, putting his head into his arms that were on the table. He laughed so hard that no sound came out. Axel was the same as his face distorted horrifically to contain all the laughter in as humanly as possible.

"God, you wouldn't believe it. It was just a stupid little idea Demyx, this fucktard over here," Axel pointed to Demyx, who only smiled sheepishly during the conversation, "managed to conjure up in this mysterious dumbass brain of his. So when I got into the back of that monstrous truck—Roxas! My man!"

Roxas tried not to cough when Axel thumped his back with a hand with much force behind it. Sora turned around to face the two, pleasantly surprised to see Kairi before him. His lips stretched for a smile so naturally as he gave her a small wave of his hand as a greeting.

"Kairi! What the, why are you here in the cafeteria?"

"I should be asking you why you're at the Organization's table," Roxas said with a raised brow. Him and Sora gave each other a fist bump. "Not complaining though; it's been forever since we hung out with each other during lunch."

"Dude, I think Organization XIV has a nice ring to it too, don't you think?" Sora smirked as he clicked his tongue. "I'd be a great addition to this group. Not going to lie."

"Roxas, these two," Xion pointed between Sora and Axel, "are not a good combination. Like holy gods, they need to stay away from each other if we want to prevent a calamity from happening."

"As I was saying before," Axel snickered, causing Sora to return back to his painful laughing episode, "I got into the back of the truck just for the dare. An innocent family of four—don't ask why they have a fucking monstrous looking truck as a family car—came out, so I had to bend down low so that they don't see me. You would think they would settle around a bit inside before they started the car. No! They didn't! The moment they just got in," Axel slid his hands together and extended one far out, "They just fucking zoomed!"

"So you're telling me that—"

"Yes, I got driven away like bags of groceries for dinner! I had to God damn knock on their rear window to get me the fuck down as they drove. I don't even want to describe what happened after. Ey, screw you, Demyx."

Kairi usually tried to keep a straight face so that people wouldn't know what she was thinking, but she couldn't help but give Axel the strangest look ever as she listened to this appalling story of his. Sora saw this and only laughed harder.

"You're tainting this innocent girl's ears right now," Sora cried, arms actually clutching his stomach from laughing too hard. "Holy shit, you're—I think we can get along. Definitely." Roxas blinked. He never heard Sora curse before—did he ever? Sora stood up from the table and suddenly went over to Kairi's side. She had to take a step to the side—he went a little bit too close to her. "Alright, I was planning to hang out with my boy Roxas here, but my plans changed. Think about adding me to the Org', alright, guys?"

"For the sake of peace, no thanks," Xion said with a roll of her eyes. Sora raised his fist in the air as a mocking gesture. Kairi noticed that him and Xion somehow formed a love-hate relationship with one another already. "Thirteen is the sacred number. We'll change it to fourteen for someone special."

"Your loss," Sora said, hands raised in surrender. Xion simply shooed him away with a hand. Turning towards Kairi, Sora jerked a thumb towards the exit of the cafeteria. "Let's go, Kairi!"

"Hold up, hold up, hold up," Roxas hooked his hand onto the crook of Sora's elbow, stopping him from going too far. "I think Kairi's had enough of you," he teased. "Give her some air."

"Tired? Of me?" Sora feigned hurt as he placed both hands on his chest. He gave Kairi an accusing look as a joke before he grinned. "Impossible."

Nonetheless, Sora admitted defeat, wanting Kairi to be exposed to more people, and sat back down on the table. Definitely having no choice now, Kairi took her seat next to Sora and Xion. In less than a minute, everyone gave a name to Kairi before they resumed chatting amongst themselves. Sitting at the table made her nervous, to say the least. Besides Xion and a blonde girl whose name she didn't know, Kairi was the only female in this enormous table. Everywhere her eyes scanned, she could only see male figures. Making sure she stuck to Xion's side, Kairi made herself as small as possible to avoid any unnecessary bubbles of anxiety from popping. Noticing this, Sora got "intimate" with Axel.

"Dude, are you trying to feel me up here? 'Cause I don't mind."

"Oh Lord, who would ever want to do that?" Marluxia cringed, shaking his head disapprovingly.

"I'm pretty hot, if I say so myself," Axel boasted, running a hand through his long hair. "Got that memorized?"

And so, the wild nature of the Organization was exposed to Kairi as she ate her lunch with them, doing her utmost best to keep a straight face the entire time. Despite being in a crowd that she couldn't quite identify herself with, Kairi enjoyed everyone's company. Everyone was so different—different from her as well. Kairi took this experience to remind herself that there were many different kinds of people out there.

"Alright, I'm out guys. I can't stand all this boy cooties anymore. Let's go, Kairi!" Xion suddenly announced to the whole table as she stood up. Kairi looked at her confusingly before she found herself dragged by the wrist.

"Um, bye," Kairi said. It sounded more like a question than anything as Sora and Roxas dumbly gave her a wave goodbye.

"Xion sure is a wild animal, isn't she?" Sora joked as he watched the raven-haired girl drag the poor redhead along her pace. "She's energetic too."

"Well, that's Xion for you," Roxas laughed.

"What's up, Xion?" Kairi asked, wondering why Xion suddenly dragged her out for the last ten minutes of lunch. "Is something the matter?"

"Of course not! What, I can't have girl-to-girl talks with you sometimes?" Xion answered, a small smile on her face.

Kairi felt guilty as she sat with Xion on a random bench outside the school. She couldn't help but feel like there was another reason Xion suddenly took her outside. Kairi wasn't the most exciting person to talk to, so she doubted that Xion just wanted to "talk." She was proven correct the next second.

"I would've never expected it from you, Kairi," Xion said. Kairi didn't understand the context. "I can see why you're so amazing."

"I'm sorry, I'm not following," Kairi decided to say directly. Xion smiled again, but this time, there was a hint of pain behind it.

"I don't know how you've managed to do it, but it seems like… you have a positive effect on Roxas. Ever since he met you, he just seems… a little bit different. Less dead. More humanlike. More pink."

"Pink?" Kairi questioned. That sounded so odd to Kairi. Xion giggled as she swung her legs above the ground. Her eyes darted up towards the sky, admiring the blueness of it.

"Maybe it's a weird metaphor for being alive. You know when babies are healthy, their skin has like a reddish pink undertone to it. It just shows the energy they have. Roxas has been looking pinker to me, and I just think that it's all because of you. I'm so glad… that Roxas is able to shed that monotonic personality of his a little bit. So, thank you, Kairi." Xion sighed. "I wasn't able to ever do much for him when we were in middle school together, so." Kairi didn't need an explanation to know what Xion was referring to. "Axel too. We just watched him… become who he is today. Not that anything is bad about him now, but he could be so much happier. We just couldn't do anything for him."

"Xion, that's not true," Kairi interjected. "The only reason why me and Roxas are close is because we… are similar. But I haven't done anything. Xion… it's all because of you and Axel that he's here today. Please recognize that."

"Kairi…"

"Roxas always talks about how amazing his two best friends are. I just wanted to let you know that," Kairi said confidently. She just wished Roxas could express this more to Xion and Axel so that they didn't have to feel useless like this. Xion blinked rapidly at Kairi before she giggled and launched at the redhead for a side hug.

"I know I said this before, but I definitely, one-hundred percent mean it now. I want to be super-duper close friends with you! You're such a cutie, do you know that?"

"Haha…" Kairi laughed awkwardly, wondering how the raven-haired girl was able to switch moods so quickly.

"Gosh, I'm so sorry for just randomly pulling you out just to say depressing shit like this," Xion apologized. "It's just been on my mind for so long. I've seen you and Roxas hang out more often nowadays, so these thoughts just occurred to me again when I saw you come to our table with him by your side. I get paranoid sometimes that I'm not a good friend for him, and so does Axel. We're just a bunch of wimps for Roxas."

"I think that's good," Kairi said. "It just shows that he has really good friends like you two."

"Kairi, ugh, you're so cute!"

"… Thank you."

~.~.~

After school, when she thought that seeing Sora once during lunch was enough, she didn't expect him to suddenly pop up beside her when she was walking towards the bus stop.

"Sora," she breathed out in surprise, completely scared out of her wits at his unexpected appearance.

"Hey," he greeted. "Heading home?"

Kairi nodded. "Yes. Are you going to practice?

"Nah," was his immediate and confident response. Kairi frowned slightly at him. Sora stuck out his tongue in response. "I'm being a bad boy: I'm skipping practice."

"… Is a captain supposed to do that?"

"Captain's just a title," he waved off, "The coach is the real boss around here. Speaking of Coach, he'll probably roast my ass for skipping, but one day won't hurt." He pointed to his car and skipped ahead to turn around and face her. Kairi stopped in her tracks. "Let's go!"

"Um, go where?" she asked uneasily.

"You'll know if you come along," he answered cheekily. Kairi took a step back from him, already indicating how hesitant she was. Inside, she didn't want to go anywhere—she wanted to go back home and just rest after a long day of school. Dinner didn't cook itself either.

"I don't think—"

"Sora! Where you heading?" a voice suddenly called out at them. Sora looked behind her before he muttered a "yikes."

"Gotta go, gotta go!" and Sora zoomed off to his car, leaving Kairi to stand there and watch him go away. Noticing how she wasn't moving, he turned back around and stretched her name in a whine, "Kairi!"

 _Fine._

Kairi slightly jogged over to him and his car. When she got in, he started driving.

"That was one of my teammates," he explained. "I don't want him to drag me to practice. Now I'm really going to get roasted."

Something seemed to be a bit off with Sora, Kairi noted. Something she noticed for a while now ever since their talk. She wanted to ask him about it, but if he was going to this length to hide it, then she didn't want to question it.

"Where are we going?" she asked for the second time.

"Visiting Kitty."

It took Kairi three seconds to figure out what that implied. When she did, she started to grow hot.

"Wait, are you saying—"

"Why not? It'll be fun. Trust," he said. Sora sure was insistent.

Before she knew it, Kairi was in front of Sora's home. It was a lavender two-story building with a very nice garden in the front. His parents must've liked gardening as a hobby, for the garden looked very invested in. Based on the neighborhood he lived in, his family must've been very well-off. However, Sora never looked like he was.

Even the family car they had must've costed a fortune. Kairi saw it when Sora parked his contrastingly old car next to it in the garage. The more she saw, the more she was feeling more and more intimidated.

"Don't be scared. My friends come over all the time, so you won't be alone in that aspect," he encouraged. She stepped out of his car and hoped his words were true. Locking his car, Sora opened the door that led into the house. He was met with a greeting from his mother's voice from the kitchen.

"Sora! Welcome home. You're home quite early, aren't you?"

"Hey, Mom," he said, shrugging off his jacket and throwing it randomly on the sofa. "Uh, practice got canceled."

"Oh, really? That's good. A day of rest is always good."

"I brought someone over."

"Ooo, is it Namine?" Kairi felt even more uncomfortable. Even his mom expected someone other than her. Suddenly feeling like she didn't belong, she took a step back out into the garage, but Sora shook his head and motioned with a hand.

"Come. No, it's not, Mom."

Kairi slowly followed Sora through their vast house. Their house was so big that Kairi could confidently say that it was twice as big as hers. When they reached the kitchen, she swore it was three times as big. There at the counter was Sora's mother preparing for tonight's dinner. When she saw Kairi, her eyes widened slightly at the sight of a new visitor.

"Well, who is this?" Sora's mother smiled warmly as she wiped wet hands on a towel. She came over to the two of them to get a closer look. Kairi felt conscious and tucked a few strands of her hair over her ear.

"Hi," Kairi shyly said.

"Kairi, this is my mom. Mom, this is Kairi!" Sora introduced. "She's a new friend I've met a few months ago."

"What pretty red hair," Mrs. Hikari admired. "Such a cute girl too." Kairi didn't see how his mother gave Sora a wink. Sora shook his head from behind Kairi and silently told his mom that it wasn't like that with his eyes. "Well, there isn't much here, but have fun! Stay for dinner, won't you?"

"No, it's okay," Kairi quickly refused. "I have to go home and cook dinner too."

"Alrighty then. That's okay too."

After the introductions were done, Sora took her to the backyard, which was just like everything in this house—big. More plants and trees were in the backyard. Kairi thought the front yard was already amazing; the backyard just blew her mind.

"Kitty's over here in her own big cage my dad built," Sora explained as he led her to the far side of the backyard. In a huge cage rested a beautiful bird with bright orange feathers. The moment it saw Sora, it excitedly flapped its wings. "Here, Kitty!" Sora opened the cage and extended a hand into it. Sora didn't have to do any further movements; Kitty flew and perched right onto his hand. Kairi took a hesitant step back when Sora brought the bird closer to her.

"Does it bite?" She didn't hesitate to ask this question.

Sora shook his head and smiled. "Not at all! He's a friendly bird. Aren't you, Kitty?" He scratched the base of Kitty's neck, causing his feathers to flare up slightly in comfortableness. When he had enough of Sora's scratches, he climbed Sora's arm and perched right at his shoulder. "He really likes to sit on shoulders. He's cute, isn't he?" Kairi nodded as her eyes studied the bird's color. The feathers near his head was a reddish orange. Down his back, the color was a yellowish-orange, only to turn green near his tail and underneath his wings.

"So pretty," Kairi said in awe as she studied the bird. Seeing Kairi and the way her eyes shined in curiosity, Sora had a tough time refraining himself from saying anything he would regret the moment it left his mouth. "Can I touch him?"

"Of course." Sora got Kitty to go on his hand again. He stretched his hand out towards her. Kairi tentatively took a finger and ran it on Kitty's head and down her back, having never touched a parrot before. "Here." Without really asking her, Sora placed Kitty onto her arm by putting Kitty's beak near it. Automatically climbing onto her, Kitty crawled up along Kairi's arm and settled onto her shoulder, earning a squeal from her.

"Sora!" she half-screamed, half-laughed as Kitty snuggled against the side of her neck. "No!"

"You're good, you're good!" Sora laughed, entertained as Kairi remained as still as a rock while the bird perched peacefully on her shoulder. "His claws might hurt a bit."

Kairi was starting to feel relaxed with Kitty on her shoulder, but the moment he started to go into her hair, she began to get jumpy again. "Sora!"

"I got you, I got you," Sora assured as he noticed what was going on. Going around her, he naturally was about to go through her hair and untangle Kitty from it, but he stopped himself. "Um…"

"It's okay, just get him out," Kairi said softly, already knowing why Sora wasn't doing anything.

This was something that oddly mystified Sora—something Kairi never explained to him. And he didn't question it either because it might've been an insensitive question. What he could not figure out was how Kairi was suddenly more tolerant with physical contact—at least with him. The first time was in Roxas's house, and the second time was when she suddenly leaned her head on his shoulder when he invaded her room. Both times had him lost for breath, but it made him wonder: was she already getting over her phobia, little by little? And the third time…

Sora blushed and erased the memory from his head.

She seemed to be getting closer to Roxas too, so maybe that really was the case. His mind began to wonder if Kairi did the same with Roxas, but he quickly shut those unnecessary thoughts away. Right when he was about to get Kitty off of Kairi, the time he took having these thoughts was enough for Kitty to get out without anyone's help. Freeing himself from Kairi's red locks, Kitty flew high up over to his favorite branch on the apple tree. Kairi relaxed when the bird was finally off of her.

"I was scared he would get even more tangled," Kairi giggled, admiring the bird from afar. "He's so cute."

"Yeah, I know." Kairi didn't see how Sora wasn't looking at Kitty.

After putting Kitty back into his cage, Sora gave her a small tour to his enormous house before they went up to his room. At first, just the thought of entering another guy's room made her feel uncomfortable, but realizing how it wasn't anything special (Sora's friends probably raided his room all the time whenever they visited), Kairi relaxed herself and took a step in.

It wasn't as neat as Roxas's room—somehow, this didn't surprise her knowing how Sora was—but it was still tidy. The slight scent of eucalyptus spearmint that she always smelled on Sora whenever he was a bit near was stronger than ever in his room, making her feel a bit weird. It was as if his entire presence was engulfing her… just like that time.

"You okay, Kairi? You're a bit red. Don't tell me you got sick," Sora said worriedly. Kairi shook her head, a little bit frantically he noted.

"I'm okay. You have a nice room."

"Your room is cuter though. I wish I had stuffed animals too, but I bet my male friends would call me a sissy or something," Sora remarked. A bit conscious about his messy desk filled with papers, he went over to clean it up a bit. "You can sit on my bed. Standing is tiring." Heeding his words, Kairi slowly sat at the very edge of his bed and watched Sora as he made his room a bit neater.

"Your house is really big… and your family has a really nice car too," Kairi said, hinting at how rich he seemed to be. Completely understanding what she was saying, he laughed nervously and shrugged.

"My parents work in a family-owned business, so. But they don't really spoil me, hence my beat-up car. Well, it's not really beat-up, but it's just old. They want me to 'experience the real world' so they're not really showering me with their riches."

Kairi smiled at this; he had good parents. That's how he was able to grow up to be kind and caring instead of snobbish and stuck-up. "But it has had its ups and downs though."

"How so?" Kairi inquired. When Sora finished cleaning up his room, he plopped onto the bed next to her, grabbing his body pillow and hugging it.

"Been taught to always look proper when meeting people," he explained. "Look good. Smile and look amiable. Don't show frustration or irritation. That's kind of the life I've been living, so it gets tiring sometimes, but," he grinned at her, "That is slowly changing." When he said this, however, she could see how his smile slightly faltered.

"Have things been okay for you recently?" she asked, not wanting him to keep it all to himself. She was here to listen. He let out a hum, as if hesitating to tell her, before he did.

"Got into a… _disagreement_ with a few of my friends," he simply said, tone even as he spoke. "Nothing too big but at the same time big since they're both my closest friends." Remembering how Roxas had stared at the empty table during lunch, Kairi put it all together.

"Namine and… Riku?"

"Bingo. Haha, even you noticed, huh? Well, it was bound to happen," Sora fell to the left away from Kairi and laid his body along his body pillow by the very end of the bed. He made sure his legs didn't touch Kairi as he stretched them straight against the wall. He was starting to get sleepy. After school was the time for his four-hour nap that he had mentioned before, but since Kairi was here, he refrained from sleeping. "There was always a small problem beneath our friendship, but because it was left untreated, it grew and grew until it got unavoidable. I haven't talked to the both of them since, but that's okay—I'll let them do some thinking during this time."

Kairi knew that it pained Sora deeply, the fight he had with his friends. He was the type of guy who always looked after them, just like how he always looked after her. However, not knowing what to do, Kairi simply remained silent.

"Enough about me. How are you doing? How are things at home?" Sora's voice sounded a bit slurred. He must've been very tired.

"It's been… okay."

"Are you sure?"

"… yeah." Her hand unconsciously went up to her cheek. The pain was still there every time she moved her muscles to talk. "Just… the same."

"Well, that's not good," he replied, voice a bit husky as the tiredness started to show in his voice. "Talk to him soon, okay?"

Kairi felt strange, talking about this type of thing with Sora. She had never confided with anyone before with her problems, so the fact that Sora basically knew everything about her now and wasn't afraid to speak up about it was something she couldn't get used to. She knew that they were friends, and friends were supposed to talk to each other, but she was still hesitant. She started to remember that night.

The night she first opened her heart up to someone.

~ _Two weeks ago~_

 _"I'll tell you. I'll tell you about myself. Because I trust you," Kairi half-whispered, heart beating in her ears as her breath became shaky both from fear and exhilaration from the contact she had with Sora. She didn't know why she just suddenly did that. She just wanted to lean on him, depend on him—to get closer to him. And her body just moved without a second thought, fitting her head into the crook of his neck like a puzzle piece. "But I'm scared."_

 _"What are you scared of?" Kairi felt Sora slowly return the gesture and lay his cheek on her head. Movement from him made her scared, but she willed herself to just stay calm._

 _"I'm scared… that you'll look at me differently. Treat me differently."_

 _"I don't think that'll happen. Because at the end, the you right now is the you I befriended. Or am I wrong?" Sora said, debunking all her thoughts. "And I'm all ears. So just spill everything that's been on your mind, and I'll listen wholeheartedly."_

 _Kairi tilted her lips up in a small smile. This was what she always liked about Sora._

 _"My phobia… originated when I was five years old," she said quietly. Already, her hands started to shake lightly as she kept them clasped on her lap. "On my fifth birthday party, I just went outside… to see the pretty balloons float in front of the pretty red sky. And then..." Kairi took a deep breath. "A car suddenly came by, and a man… kidnapped me."_

 _She stopped there, letting everything sink in the deathly silent room. She couldn't see Sora's face right now, but she didn't want to. She shut her eyes closed as she willed back her emotions of fear and disgust. Sora didn't say anything, making her a bit paranoid, but she figured that he would just remain silent until she finished everything._

 _"I don't want to go into details but he… touched me. And the next thing I knew, I was dumped out of the car. Dumped into an unknown, dark place thirty minutes away from home. People from the neighborhood heard me and helped bring me back to home. And I never saw him again. After investigations, they figured that he still had enough of a guilty conscious to just suddenly let me go… So, I was lucky. Lucky that nothing else happened to me and lucky that he was still somewhat…_ _ **human**_ _."_

 _"Kairi…"_

 _"But that's not the end of it," Kairi said, letting her emotions spill as her memories became stronger than ever in her mind. She recalled all of the horrible things that happened to her and allowed the tears that formed at her eyes to silently fall as she continued speaking. "When I was in eighth grade, my mother had a sudden death. All because of me. My parents and I always went biking on a Friday evening. It was something I always loved to do because I would always bike along the beach. I would bike along the paopu trees by the sides of the sidewalk as the sun set red in the distance and the waters of the ocean shimmered with an incredible light._

 _"On a certain Friday, both my parents were busy, but I demanded to go biking. I had no consideration for my parents back then, so I wouldn't give up until my mom finally gave in. We went biking, and…" Kairi gulped, already feeling the pain of confessing what happened next. "We were about to do a right turn. But a bus. A bus came to do a right turn too, but… the driver made the turn too narrow. As he did his right turn, he didn't realize that he hit both my mom and me in the bike lane. The bus crushed us and… only I managed to survive._

 _"Losing a mom was… extremely difficult for me, but losing the love of your life must've been on a completely different level. My dad… was very broken. He still is. We… are not on good terms. Because it's all my fault," Kairi sniffed as she lifted her head from Sora and wiped her tears with the back of her sleeves. "It's all my fault, and he hates me. He doesn't want me anymore because it was all my fault my mom died. I… I—"_

 _"Hey, you're alright," Sora's soothing voice interrupted._

 _It happened very slowly for Kairi—so slow that her heart seemed to stop beating in the process. One second, she was looking at his bright blue eyes, and the next, she was flush against his body as he wrapped his strong arms around her and pulled her in for a hug._

 _"Can I hug you?" he asked, a little bit too late. "… I should start asking for your permission before I actually do it. I'm sorry, you can push me away if you don't like it, but… I'm sorry… that all that had to happen to you."_

 _Kairi remained rigid against his gentle hold, mind unable to form comprehensible thoughts as she tried to let the situation sink in. Her heart thundered in her chest and sent its pulse all throughout her body. At first, she thought it was just the daunting anxiety that always rose from her stomach and spread throughout her body, but when the usual nausea and panic never came, she knew that it wasn't it._

 _She wasn't scared. She wasn't scared of Sora._

 _Kairi slipped her arms around his neck and clutched at the back of his shirt in a messy manner—desperate even. She could hear how his breath was uneven as they sat there in each other's arms, relishing in the silence that met them._

 _And then she cried._

 _She cried into his shoulder, releasing all her pain for the second time. Sora's embrace felt warm and protective, as if trying its best to shield away all the hurt that she felt._

 _"It's all my fault," she wailed softly, eyes blinking the tears down her cheeks. "If only I didn't go biking that day!"_

 _"Do you know what I think it was?" Sora asked, voice cracking a bit. "An accident. So everything's okay, Kairi. Everything is okay. Nothing is your fault." He couldn't bear it. He couldn't bear to see an innocent girl like her crying in such an agonizing way. It hurt him so much to see her like this that he couldn't help but wrap her up into his hold, to tell her that it was okay, to tell her that she did nothing wrong._

 _That it was the world that wronged her. The world that casted a blind eye on her and let her suffer silently, unheard and unnoticed. All those times he saw her pass by the lockers frightened and scared, only to pretend that he didn't see her like everyone else. All those times he saw her fear and panic-stricken face, only to be like everyone else and just walk past it and ignore it. All those times where he heard such bad comments and rumors about her, only to smile and laugh it off, unable to gather the courage to tell them not to say such cruel things._

 _All those times where he, like everyone else, was just a bystander, oblivious to all she had to hold on her own._

 _He hated it, really. The image he had to keep up to get along with everyone. Because of it, he couldn't be there for Kairi earlier._

 _"Everything's my fault," she continued chanting, breaking his heart more and more. "I'm horrible. I'm a bad daughter. I wish… I wish… I wish that—"_

 _"I wish that you don't have to blame yourself for everything that was out of your control," Sora finished for her. "So please, Kairi, listen to me when I say that nothing is your fault."_

 _For some reason, Sora's words just sounded so right despite her attempts of trying to believe in the same exact thing for all these years. Her wails slowly settled down to quiet sobs as she buried her face into his shoulder, wetting it with all her tears that was in her overflowing reservoir. Sora simply sat there with her, offering his emotional support as he stared at her desk blankly. And that was when he noticed it._

 _Her middle school yearbook. For the same middle school he went to._

 _"You went to Stargaze?" Sora asked. He felt bad when he said that, considering how he abruptly changed the topic. Kairi slowly removed herself from him. He let her go easily, but their arms lingered on each other before Kairi detached herself. Sora instantly felt cold._

 _"I did," she sniffed. "We went to the same school."_

 _"How come I never knew that?"_

 _"Because… I probably looked different." Kairi continued to wipe her tears as she slowly got up and made her way to her desk to grab the middle school yearbook. She went back to sit next to Sora and flipped a few pages before it landed where she wanted to show him. Turning the yearbook to him, she pointed a picture to a girl with black-hair and glasses. "That's… me."_

 _"No fucking way." He grabbed the yearbook for closer inspection. He looked up at Kairi sitting in front of him right now, and even then, he still couldn't believe it. She just looked so_ _ **different.**_

 _"My dad said I reminded him too much of my mom with my bright red hair and blue eyes," Kairi explained, voice exhausted from crying. "So I dyed my hair black and wore glasses. That was why I continued to wear fake glasses in high school, but I stopped dying my hair because it was ruining it too much."_

 _Sora violently shut the yearbook closed and tossed it to the side of her bed before he grabbed her hands, lifted them, and put his forehead against their locked hands._

 _"I will forever be by your side, Kairi," he confessed in a tide of emotions. His voice cracked horribly as he shut his eyes. "Everything that has happened to you, I accept it all. I'll be here for you forever no matter what, so please. Please don't try to be someone you're not. Don't hate yourself like this. Don't blame yourself like this. I will accept everything that you've carried by yourself and will never turn my back it. I promise._

 _"Your life is still beautiful, so don't treat it like it's forever ugly. Do it for me. For yourself. For your dad. For your future."_

Sora fell asleep, eyes closed as his breathing became deep and even. Kairi blinked, not expecting him to just suddenly fall asleep like that when she was right there in his room. However, remembering the horribly tiring schedule he had told her about, Kairi realized that this was his time to nap.

His sleeping face was very adorable, like a little kid who had too much fun on the playground. His bangs hung over his eyes as he slept while his half of his body was uncomfortably laying on his body pillow. Wondering how he could sleep in such a position, Kairi tried not to laugh before she gently stood up from his bed and decided to head home.

"Just stay," his voice croaked. In surprise, she turned around to face Sora. His eyes still remained closed as he shifted his position off of his body pillow. "Won't you stay? It's only three. Your presence is oddly soothing. It makes me sleep better."

That obviously was a lie, but all he wanted to do was be with her a little bit longer. Her presence just made him relax easier. After everything that has been going on with his friends, it seemed like she was the only one there for him. It made him feel lonely, but Kairi was able to vanquish all of the loneliness away.

"… I'll stay for another hour."

"That sounds awesome."

~.~.~

Roxas sat at his desk as he lightly threw his phone up in the air in his hand, contemplating whether or not it would just be _weird_ to suddenly call them out of nowhere. And for a reason like his too—they would probably just laugh at him.

But he needed to. He just did. Using all the shameless willpower left in his body, he pressed the group call button and put it on speaker.

As quick as a bolt of lightning in the sky, both Axel and Xion picked up.

"Roxas! What's up, my dude?" Axel's obnoxious voice sounded.

"Holy shit, Axel, can you lower your voice for once? You literally just blasted my ears. I'm wearing earphones, you know!" Xion complained. Already, his two best friends were ready to have a duel to the death with each other again. "Anyway… hi, Roxas! Are you up for a game or something? Well, it's kind of late but…"

"Dude, it's never too late. When Roxas calls for it, he gets it," Axel interjected. "What you want, my buddy?"

"Thank you, guys," Roxas suddenly blurted out, making the entire call silent on the opposite end. It took the two of them a while to respond.

"Rox, what's up?" Axel said, voice normal and serious this time.

"You okay, Roxas?" Xion said next, worry lacing her words slightly. Roxas simply laughed and shook his head to himself.

"Thanks for always being there for me, through thick and thin, from middle school to now. Without you guys, I don't know where I'd be right now, so… Yeah. I just… wanted to let you guys know that. Sorry for calling so late into the night."

Roxas was actually feeling a bit nervous when they remained silent again for a bit—he had never really said these types of things to his friends before, but for some reason, he just needed to tonight. To let them know that they were very important to him.

And then he heard sniffing and a deep cough.

"Axel, are you crying?" Xion's voice said, but she didn't sound any better as she joined in on the sniffle's episode.

"Shut up! I'm not! I'm just sweating, man, sweating. That's all there is to it," Axel barked back, denying all her accusations. "What about you, huh? What's that I hear? Is that mucus coming out of your nose right now?"

"Shut up!"

"Guys," Roxas laughed, "What's up with you guys? You're creeping me out."

"We need a meeting, pronto! Let's eat some sea-salt ice cream, guys. Nearest convenience store, let's go," Axel proposed, voice returning back to normal with a few sniffs in between his sentences.

"It's the dead of winter… but I'm in!" Xion giggled.

"Uh, I'm not so sure about that," Roxas said jokingly.

"You know, Roxas, you're important to us too. Always and forever," Axel said. A gagging noise was heard in the call.

"Someone call an ambulance, I'm choking on pure cheese right now," Xion mockingly coughed. "Get me out of here!"

"I'll snap you in half, you bitch," Axel growled.

An hour later, and Roxas found himself eating ice cream with his two best friends in the dead night of the winter. But he didn't care how cold he felt—the company of his friends was enough to warm him up.

 _Thank you, Kairi._

~.~.~

It was a normal sight to the whole school by now: the once redheaded freak together with the stars of the blitzball and track team along with a few others by their side.

Namine didn't get it. Not at all. What was special about the redheaded girl? The girl who was an outcast just a few months back. How did she even get close to the two boys that were so unreachable to her? What did she do? Did she have some sort of tricks underneath her sleeves?

Namine never felt so ugly before as she hid behind the corner opposite from where the redhead was with Roxas and Sora, laughing and smiling as if they were the best of buddies. She couldn't approach the two of them anymore. Everything just seemed off. Sora was still slightly mad at her, and Roxas, for some odd and strange reason, felt more uncomfortable around her. What was going on?

She really couldn't fathom what Kairi did to the both of them. Something changed within Roxas. Before, he was someone who always had his head on his neck—always levelheaded. His personality was calm like the soft waves that crashed on the shores of the beach. Now, she noticed how he seemed to let himself go more. He goofed around more with Xion and Axel, laughed obnoxiously along with Axel from time to time now, teased and bothered Xion more to the point where Namine thought it was out of character. Sometimes, she would see the trio with arms around each other's shoulders as they went home laughing together over some stupid joke Axel pulled. Roxas was just… different.

Sora was also different in the opposite way. His always cheerful personality dimmed down. It wasn't gone, but it was definitely less. He spoke his mind more, unafraid to let his thoughts be known whether it be good or bad. He actually showed anger when someone cut him in line, irritation when the teacher told him to write lines for being late to class, discomfort when someone said something he didn't like. His true self, he called it.

Namine clutched the straps of her backpack as she stood there, the negativity of her feelings really getting to her.

"You know, as a friend that is close to both, you should be happy for them."

Namine gasped in surprise as her eyes shot up to look at who was talking to her

 _Xion._

"Xion," Namine said uncomfortably. She didn't like the blank stare the raven-haired girl was giving her. "What are you doing here?"

"I was about to join the three before I saw you and your dark cloud above your head," Xion bluntly said. She shook her head at the blonde before she smiled a smile that didn't quite match her words. "I pity you."

"W-what did you just say to me?" Namine stuttered, readily getting offended. How dare this girl just come up to her and just call her pitiful.

"We're kind of the same, but at the same time, we're not," Xion said, ignoring the glare the blonde gave her. Xion gave it another thought before she shook her head lightly. "Yup, we're not."

"Are you making fun of me right now?" Namine said, voice rising slightly in anger.

"Instead of resenting Kairi, why not accept the things she did that you couldn't accomplish?" Xion ran a hand through her short hair before crossing her arms together over her chest. "Instead of acting selfish and pretending that everything has to revolve around you, why don't you just drop your jealousy for a second and just support all of them?"

"Don't talk like you know what I'm feeling," Namine snapped. "Who are you to just lecture me like this?"

"Because I was in the same spot as you just a while back," Xion stated frankly. "But I realized it was stupid and childish. Stupid and childish to hold a grudge against someone who has done nothing wrong and only helped. Don't you want the best for them?"

"I…" Namine trailed, already feeling her resolve broken as Xion continued to attack her at all the places that hurt.

"Just because you couldn't do anything for them doesn't mean you should hold them back from moving on. From growing. If you truly were their friends, you wouldn't be hating on someone who has grown to become important to the both of them. You should move on with them instead of holding them back like this." Namine didn't say anything as Xion uncrossed her arms and approached the blonde. She put a hand on Namine's shoulder, lips tightened to form a sympathetic smile. "Plus… I believe that isn't even the main issue. You just need better communication. With the both of them. I would know. Because that was what happened to me."

Finished giving her two cents to the blonde, Xion left the corner and skipped happily to the three of them, immediately engulfing Kairi into a hug. She left Namine frozen in place, unable to move as she let all of Xion's words sink in. Slamming the side of her fist against the lockers, Namine stalked off to the opposite direction, leaving the four happy people alone.

 _Disgusting._

That was what Namine thought about herself.

~.~.~

 _You, Riku, are a big wimp who tries to act all tough and big just so that people won't bully your weak self._

 _You must really enjoy stepping on people to make yourself feel better, don't you?_

 _I just wish you understood that everyone has their own story that you need to understand and listen to instead of judging them by how they look and behave on the outside. If you can't respect that, then I don't think I can be friends with you._

 _Riku, in eighth grade, she lost her fucking mom!_

"Shut up, shut up!" Riku screamed in his room as he placed his pillow over his ears. The voices haunted him inside his mind as everything everyone said started to swirl around him like curses and ghosts. He tried so hard to shut them out, but it only seemed to increase in intensity the more he tried to ward it all away. "Fuck!"

Riku sat up from his bed and started pacing around his room. Everything was just a complete mess now.

All because of that stupid redhead.

He needed to talk to her. _Soon._

Or else he was just going to lose it.

* * *

Hehe, here's an update guys :) Immense writer's block so sorry about that! I have nothing much to say besides hoping you guys enjoyed this chapter once again! Now I must sleep for my early early class in the morning heh.

And thank you for the reviews from last chapter. You guys fueled me :'))


	16. Chapter 16

"We have officially created another sub-unit," Sora said happily as he surveyed everyone sitting at the lunch table. "Winter break is coming up, isn't it? Christmas break, Christmas break!"

"Sometimes I forget you're almost seventeen," Xion said bluntly, indirectly attacking his maturity. She mockingly scrutinized him as she leaned in closer to him across the table for the effect, earning a push of the face by Sora's hand.

"You're always out to get me or something. Lay off, won't you?" Sora hissed.

"Dude, I feel you. No lie," Axel whistled. "She's super annoying. Can totally relate."

Roxas and Kairi watched as the three of them bickered with one another. Rather, it was just Xion versus Sora and Axel as they argued about her "unnecessary" comments about them. It was a strange sight for Kairi, seeing Sora jokingly hate someone so much. It was the same for Roxas—he never would've thought that his two best friends would've gotten along so well with Sora.

Something else was strange for Kairi though: sitting at a lunch table in the cafeteria with a group of friends. She couldn't describe the feeling she felt as she observed everyone around her, from the calm Roxas to the hyperactive trio that never seemed to stop radiating energy. If Kairi looked back to the past, she would've been shocked by the staggering difference between her life three months ago and her life right now.

Three months ago, she was the freak that no one even wanted to go near, much less talk to. She always envied the radiating youth around her, from the girls who wore normal clothes to the crowd of friends that always laughed with each other by the lockers she passed by. A life she knew she could never have—that was the haunting thought that was on her mind all the time. Her strong desire to be like all the other kids, to live like the others, to feel like the others.

It finally came true.

At least partially. There were many obstacles she still had to face, including her phobia, her family situation, and just her social skills in general, but she felt like she was getting there, one small step at a time. This time, she wasn't alone in her journey. Just months ago, she believed that there wasn't a single kind soul in the world that would help her, but after meeting both Sora, Roxas, and all their friends, her outlook on this "cruel" world shifted. Because of them, she felt the drive to improve herself, to change herself for the better. The motivation to be someone they could be proud of, and the powerful wish to live a life where she didn't have to have her eyes grounded on the floor all the time.

"Hey, I'll be going for a second," Roxas said next to Kairi, swinging a leg over the bench to get out. Kairi blinked at him.

"Where are you going?" she asked.

"Gonna go talk to someone. I'll be right back—maybe."

Kairi slightly frowned at his figure as he made his way across the cafeteria and exited it. She glanced at his backpack that was next to her. _Will he come back and get it?_

Roxas went down the empty hallways and turned the corner, a hand outstretched knowing that she was going to be right there when he turned.

"Namine," he simply said, turning her around by her shoulder. Her blonde hair caressed her face when she was turned, eyes widened by Roxas's sudden appearance.

"Roxas," she breathed, tucking her hair over her ear. She clutched the straps of her backpack nervously. "W-why are you here?"

"I saw you leave the cafeteria," was all he said, letting his arm fall from her shoulder and back to his side. He didn't say anymore verbally; everything he wanted to say and ask conveyed themselves through the look in his eyes as he gazed at her questioningly with a slightly raised brow.

"What?" she asked uncomfortably, never liking it when Roxas went silent on her. Most of the time, she could never read his mind when he was like this. However, she could already guess what he was confronting her about.

"When are you going to go and talk to Sora? It's not like you two to just give each other the silent treatment like this," Roxas sighed, arms crossed as he leaned his side on the lockers. "Make up with him already. He's sad too. There's like a gloomy cloud above his head ever since you guys got into a fight about whatever."

"What do you mean 'whatever'? I bet Sora already told you about it," Namine said, not intending to sound so bitter as she looked away to the side. Roxas frowned.

"Are you seriously saying that? You know Sora would never gossip about you. He likes to keep his matters private, even though he's such an outgoing guy. He's not the type of person to continue staying mad either, so just communicate with him. The tension between you guys is very uncomfortable."

Namine let her arms fall from her backpack straps and clenched her hands into fists, readily getting irritated by the things Roxas said. The last thing she wanted to hear from him was a lecture.

"Are you really here just to talk about Sora? It seems like that's the only thing we talk about," Namine exasperated, her stress about the situation showing. Roxas uncrossed his arms and moved a step back, not expecting her to start exploding when he spoke to her so calmly. "Sora, Sora, Sora. It's like you think we're a married couple or something. We don't always have to be together, you know!"

"No one said anything about you guys always being together. It's been a week, and—"

"You know exactly what I mean. You keep thinking we're dating or something. That's why you keep trying to pair us up no matter where I am, what I do, or when I talk to you! And you're such a hypocrite, you know that? Who do you think started this problem in the first place?"

"Excuse me?" Roxas did not want to fight with her—she suddenly turned so aggressive on him the moment he approached her. All he wanted to do was bring Namine back to their table. Did he not get that point across?

He wasn't going to say it, but he missed her presence a little bit.

"You're the one who fought with Riku first," she hissed. "If only you didn't nearly brawl with him that day, everything would've been fine."

"You know that's not true. There had always been problems within our table about him," Roxas countered, not understanding why Namine was spouting such things. She was usually reasonable, and he knew that _she_ knew about Riku's problem the best. It wasn't like her to blame him carelessly like this. "It was bound to happen, a disagreement with him."

"Disagreement about _what_ , huh?" Namine challenged, causing him to be at lost with words. Who was this person?

"Namine, how about we calm down and—"

"About Kairi Lockhart? Is she the reason that gets you mad and riled up?" Namine spat, and she regretted the moment such words escaped pass her lips. Roxas frowned deeply at this, not understanding how Kairi suddenly got pulled into their conversation.

"What are you implying?" he asked slowly. Namine put a hand to her forehead as she stared at the ground.

"If only she didn't appear in the picture, everything could've been fine. Everything would've remained normal and things wouldn't have changed like this," she muttered underneath her breath. Before Roxas could continue his inquisition, she spun on her heels and briskly walked off, leaving Roxas to simply stare at her back in astonishment.

He closed his eyes as he leaned his back against the lockers, mind deep in thought as he tried to figure Namine out. Suddenly getting into a disagreement with Sora. Refusing to make up with Sora. Getting into a fight with him as well. Unusually irritated and emotional to the point of irrational thinking. Mentioning Kairi.

He put all the pieces together until it clicked like a lock to a key. Roxas opened his eyes and sighed, pinching his eyebrows together.

"Oh no, no… Namine, it's not what you think…" Crossing his arms, Roxas wondered how he was going to tackle this complicated problem now as the bell rang to signal the end of lunch. Removing himself from the lockers, he turned the corner to go back to the cafeteria to fetch his backpack.

Roxas didn't expect Kairi to be there.

"K-kairi," he stuttered. He rarely stuttered. His eyes were wide with shock as Kairi stared at the ground with his backpack in her hand.

"Lunch was ending soon. Thought I would bring your bag to you before you left," Kairi simply said, slowly handing him his bag. Roxas took it.

"How much did you hear?" Roxas asked, getting straight to the point. There was no point of beating the bush now. Kairi shook her head and forced the smallest smile.

"It's okay."

Roxas shook his head. For what, he didn't know. Probably because he didn't want Kairi to start feeling unnecessary things she shouldn't be feeling.

"Namine's just been emotional these days. Don't mind what she says," Roxas tried to assure, but he knew it wasn't going to work.

"It's okay," she repeated in the same tone and volume. The rush of students going towards their respective class wasn't making their conversation any better. "I'm going to go to class now. It's kind of far."

"Kairi—"

"It's okay." And she turned around and left, leaving Roxas to stare at her shrinking back in regret.

~.~.~

After practice, Sora immediately went home and crashed onto his bed. Extremely tired from practice like always, Sora wouldn't be lying if he said he could've fallen asleep the moment his head hit his pillow. He let out a long, drawn-out sigh.

Sora wondered how he was going to tell his team he was going to retire this year.

He was going to graduate next year anyway, so it wouldn't be too much of a big deal, but he knew Tidus and Wakka would hound his butt about his year-early retirement. The team could manage themselves without him, but Sora just knew they wouldn't let him go so easily. However, he knew they would understand. They were good teammates. He had thought about this decision many times, and backed out as a result many times.

Now, his decision was firm. He was just drained of energy at this point; there was no point in continuing something he grew to be tired of.

Sora laid sideways as he scrolled through his phone, liking random things on his social media. He stopped when he realized how robotically he was doing it and groaned. _I want to sleep but at the same time I don't want to._

Pulling himself up, Sora swung his legs over the side of his bed and sat up. He contemplated doing homework. But no, that wouldn't work. His brain was just so tired from no sleep. Then he wondered if he should cook something to eat, but he doubted his mom would let him. But he couldn't blame her; he'd probably burn the house down during the whole process.

 _You know what, I should just sleep, or else I'll regret it later._

Sora laid back, closed his eyes, and prepared himself for sleep, but the moment he did, his mother's voice called out for him from downstairs.

"Sora! Come down here! You have a visitor!"

Sora groaned and sat back up. Then he frowned and checked his phone for text messages. No one informed him of a surprise visit. Wondering who it could be, Sora didn't know whether to thank the person for disrupting his sleep or not.

"Coming!"

Dwindling down the stairs, Sora didn't expect to see Roxas by the door saying polite greetings to his mom. With the backpack on his back and the duffel bag strapped from his shoulder, Roxas didn't even go home to drop his stuff—he just came straight here. Wondering if there was something wrong, Sora climbed down the rest of the stairs.

"Roxas! What the, why are you here?" Sora asked. Sora's mother left to go back to the kitchen as Roxas took off his shoes and closed the front door behind him.

"Decided to just pop on by. Haven't done that in a while, have we? It's Friday."

 _Oh yeah, huh_ , Sora thought. He forgot it was Friday, the day where they would pick someone's house to crash. They haven't been doing that for a while. "Hope you weren't doing anything."

"Definitely not," Sora grinned. He went back upstairs to his room with Roxas following behind him. Settling his bags on the floor near the door, Roxas sat right on the wooden floor as Sora sat back on his bed.

"It's been a while, hasn't it?" Roxas mused, "Hanging out. Just the two of us. We usually don't do that since there's always one or two other people sticking around."

"That's right," Sora realized. It wasn't just that—it had been a while since Sora ever hung out with someone one-on-one, much less Roxas. Roxas was a great friend and all, but Sora wasn't as close to him as he was with Namine and Riku. Roxas also had his own closer group of friends, so he couldn't blame him.

And then he went straight to the point. "So what brings you here?" Roxas blinked at the spiky-haired boy before laughing.

"Wow, you speak as if I came here for something. We're friends, aren't we?"

"When was two boys hanging out at each other's houses ever a thing?" Sora joked. "We follow a different code book than the girls you know. Silent rule."

"Oh, just shut up," Roxas chuckled. "Well, you're as sharp as ever, aren't you?"

" _Pfft_. Me? Sharp? People usually call me a doofus, so thanks for the compliment. Alright, Rox, let's talk. Just between us guys. And we'll… _share feelings._ " Sora smirked when Roxas mocked a gag. "Because boys love talking about _emotions._ "

"Okay, seriously, just shut up."

"All ears, my dude. What's up?"

"How's Kairi?"

This question felt so random to Sora. He asked what was wrong, and Roxas just asked how Kairi was doing. And why would he ask him this question anyway? It wasn't like Sora knew everything Kairi did in her day.

"Um, good, I guess? We haven't really talked outside school that much, and she's been disappearing to who-knows-where in school. I just leave her alone. Sometimes, I feel like she likes to be alone sometimes."

"Hm, that's what you think, huh?" Roxas hummed, leaning his back against Sora's bed. Having no idea where this conversation was heading, Sora decided to just be straightforward.

"Why are you asking?"

"No reason." _And I came out of a duck's butt yesterday._ "It's just that… uh…" _Huh_ , Sora simply thought. _I've never seen Roxas hesitant before._ Sora suddenly felt a twinge at his chest. For what reason, he didn't know, but he just did. He also didn't know how Roxas and Kairi ever became friends. One day, they didn't know each other, and the next, they were already hanging out with each other and spilling their hearts out to each other. Their friendship… was so enigmatic, but for some reason, he could see it. He could see how close the two were. It made Sora realize how he wasn't the only one Kairi ever confided to. The strange feeling that was poking him in the chest blossomed to become something he was all too familiar with. At first, he didn't know it what it was, but it didn't take long for him to recognize it.

 _Jealousy._

Why? He didn't know.

"Roxas… do you like Kairi?" Sora decided to ask. The reaction he got from the blond wasn't one he was expecting. Roxas unconsciously choked on his saliva, earning a worried look from the brunet.

"What in the world? Where did you formulate that conclusion from?" Roxas coughed, eyes slightly wide. Sora smiled sheepishly.

"That isn't the case?"

"Far from the case," Roxas added for emphasis. The blond ran a hand through his hair as he shook his head. "I'm just asking because… something happened this week and I just haven't seen her ever since to gauge for myself."

Sora frowned. "Something happened?"

Roxas sighed, and instead of answering his question, he said something else. "When are you going to make up with Namine? What happened between you guys anyway, Sora? I've never seen you guys like this. Mind telling me what's up?"

"Ah," Sora said uncomfortably as they hit a topic he didn't want to talk about. "It was nothing big…"

"To the point of avoiding each other?"

"To be fair here," Sora countered. "I haven't been avoiding her. She's the one who has been avoiding me. Here," Sora took out his phone and opened his text messages for Roxas to see and read.

 _Namine, let's talk, okay? Call me when you're free._

 _Nams, sorry for suddenly bursting at you. Let's not ignore each other like this, okay? It was my bad for getting emotional. You know me, so don't ignore me like this._

 _I'll be here to talk whenever you're ready._

"I can't ignore my friends for a whole darn week, Roxas. That's not who I am," Sora confessed, heaving a huge sigh. "Yeah, we kind of got into a small fight, but because it was small, I wanted to talk to her literally two days after, but she's being difficult. I'm not sure why though. She's never this emotional."

"Why don't you approach her in school?"

"She literally runs away from me, dude. We have math together too, so you don't know how spooked I am when I see her nowhere in sight when the bell rings. I'm telling you—I don't know what's wrong with her. And it worries me too, you know."

"I talked to her a few days ago," Roxas revealed, causing Sora to perk his ears up in interest. "I think I kind of know what's going on. I'm not sure though."

"Roxas Fair and his super smart brain," Sora chuckled. Roxas shook his head to deny this claim and smiled ruefully before he explained his encounter with Namine. Sora listened with attentive ears, and when Roxas finished, he only wore a look of shock.

"You're not the only one she's running away from. She's avoiding me too," Roxas explained. "And you're not the only one letting your emotions run free. Hers are going out of wack. To the point where she just kind of yelled at me."

"No, that doesn't sound like her," Sora said, not believing what Roxas was telling him. "She always has a calm head."

"Ha, that's what I thought too."

"And she took out Kairi to fight about as well?" Namine and Kairi barely even knew each other, much less spoke to each other. Sora didn't understand the relationship between them since he wasn't an expertise in this field, but Roxas somewhat had a clue.

"I think I know why."

"What is it?"

"She's just… lonely, I think."

"No way," Sora raised a brow. "Why would she be lonely? She has the both of us. It's not like we're treating her any differently." What Sora said was ironic, really. Remembering what Namine said about Kairi, Roxas rubbed his face with a hand to somehow get rid of all the weariness in his body, both physically and mentally.

"I think to her, we _are_ different. I wasn't planning on telling you this, but…" Roxas told Sora what Namine said about Kairi. "Said that everything changed the moment she entered in all of our lives. And I don't think she's wrong. Meeting Kairi… has made me realize a lot of things."

Sora suddenly started feeling emotional when Roxas said that. He didn't know why—Kairi's presence just made him feel that way, and based on Roxas's reaction, he wasn't the only one who felt this.

"Meeting her made me realize many things too," Sora agreed softly. Roxas sucked his lips in and leaned his head back to lay it on the edge of Sora's bed.

"We've been… going through a journey. Within ourselves. Facing our fears. And I've come out better. Victorious. Changing. Bigger." If Sora listened to any of the words Roxas said without any context, he would not understand what the blond was contemplating deeply about at all. He would actually ask if he was okay, if school or life was wearing away at his mental state too much. All of it seemed disconnected and random, but for some reason, at that moment, he understood every word the blond recited. Even if it sounded jumbled. "And even though with her shy and reserved stature, Kairi's… a lot more than what she thinks she is."

"I feel the same." Sora wasn't afraid to admit that. "But… what does this have to do with Namine? I'm sorry, I'm stupid about these types of things." Sora gave an apologetic smile, and Roxas simply shook his head, signaling that it was okay.

"I think we're accidentally leaving her behind. We… are moving forward without her. At least in her eyes." Roxas raised an eyebrow up at Sora, as if challenging him a little bit to see if he understood what he meant. Sora's deepened frown clearly showed his confusion.

"Roxas, what are you saying? At least I'm not doing that at all. That's not… true."

His sentence suddenly died in his mouth.

Roxas still held that challenging expression of his.

 _Ah._

Roxas and Sora shared a look.

"See what I'm saying?"

Sora's mouth turned into a grim line.

When Sora thought about it, he never really did talk about Namine about his sudden change in personality. With Roxas suddenly becoming a bit more positive nowadays, he safely assumed that it was the same for his case too.

"Haha, well, shit."

"I've been… alright about it. Like it's been like that between me and Namine since the beginning, but I feel like you, her best friend, doing that to her really packed a punch," Roxas explained. "And we're even sitting together at lunch with the addition of Axel, Xion, and Kairi, without her. You can just imagine what she could've felt." Sora understood the second part, but he didn't quite understand the first.

"What do you mean, it's always 'been like that' between you guys?" Sora questioned. "That doesn't sound too good." Roxas got uncomfortable with his question and was about to just direct the topic somewhere else to avoid answering it. However, that was something he needed to stop doing—hiding from his close friends. Not wanting to continue being secretive about himself anymore, Roxas willed up the courage to say it.

"I like Namine."

It was Sora's turn to almost die from choking on his own saliva.

"Holy fucking—Roxas, you're not crapping on me right now, are you?" Sora spluttered, immediately falling off the bed to join the blond on the floor in a messy manner. Startled from his sudden bombardment, Roxas crawled backwards a little bit. "Dude, are my ears really working right now? Say it again, Roxas, say it ag—" Roxas pushed Sora's face away with a hand when he got too close for comfort.

"Dude."

"Sorry, it's just that—how in the—bro, we all thought—wait, do you know that Namine likes you too? Oh shit, I don't think I was supposed to say that, but—"

"I do," Roxas admitted, interrupting the hyperactive brunet who was just spouting every question he had on his mind.

"Then why? Roxas, you're literally blasting my brains right now. I can't believe it. Wait," Sora cleared his throat, knowing he was getting too excited. "Roxas… you know? Then why… why did you keep thinking we were dating? Or suggesting it?"

Roxas didn't expect them to dive in this deep into the conversation, but there was no backing out now.

"I believed I wasn't the right guy for her," Roxas confessed slowly, looking away from Sora and returned to leaning back against his bed. "I thought you suited her more, so I just wanted to push you guys in the same direction."

Sora could only stare at the blond with shock as his words baffled him. All this time, and Sora was doing the complete opposite, trying to push Namine towards Roxas. "Sora, you liked her, didn't you? You still do, don't you?"

"W-what?" Sora stuttered. Roxas's blue eyes locked with his, intense and questioning as he looked at him. Suddenly feeling hot at being exposed, Sora had to look away and pulled at the collar of his shirt with a finger. "I did. But I stopped in freshman year. I thought that _you_ were the better guy for her."

"And I thought you were the better guy."

"Why me though? Honestly, dude, when Namine told me she liked you, I just felt defeated. How can you say I'm the better one?"

"I felt like it had to be you," Roxas chuckled, feeling a bit amused that they were actually talking about this. "You guys were literally inseparable. And I felt like Namine had something for you too before she started liking me. Sora, you're funny, nice, and sweet—the exact opposite of me."

"Dude, I think you're the exact opposite of me too but in another way."

The two boys looked at each other, a bit thrown off at their perspectives of one another. Sora shook his head and continued. "Roxas, you're literally smart, good-looking, mature—just _everything_ a girl would want. So that's why—"

"When I say opposite, I don't mean it that way," Roxas cut in, shutting down Sora's claims. "I'm… indifferent. And very cold. I knew she was starting to like me, but… I couldn't let her in. I felt like I wasn't the right guy for her if I was going to be like this, so I never intended to get closer to her. Sora, _you're_ the guy for her."

"Roxas, I don't like her anymore. At least, I don't think I do."

"You don't think?" Roxas critically interrogated. Sora rolled his eyes.

"I don't think, I _know._ Kill me for saying what goes with the flow. I really don't like her anymore, so… don't keep pairing us up. I think… it hurts Namine too."

"Yeah, I know."

"And what you said about yourself," Sora moved from his side and crawled over a bit so that he could see Roxas face-to-face, "I don't think that's true. Describing yourself as… _cold_ just isn't right. You're not. Nothing is bad about being who you are. Even though you say I'm mistaking your matureness for something else, I'm still going to firmly believe that you are. 'Cause that's you, and you're you. The you right now is you. Don't… be afraid to be who you are and what you've grown up to be."

These were words Sora told himself every day. _Don't be afraid. Because we're doing nothing wrong for being ourselves._

Roxas's gaze softened as he looked at the brunet before he laughed and smiled.

"Sorry, but someone beat you to the pep talk. I don't need to hear a second one to understand and accept what you're saying. I know all this already, so don't worry."

"Pep talk?" Sora blinked. "Who?"

"Kairi."

Sora widened his eyes a little bit.

"Kairi? Giving you a pep talk? What in the world? Dude, you're just blowing my mind into the vast universe right now today."

"Right?" Roxas mused. "Kairi's the shy type, so she really surprised me by how bold she become to give _me_ advice. Her words resonated with me a bit, so I'm working on it, as you can see."

"Yeah, I do see it," Sora smirked. "Who knew Roxas had a wild side? Axel really brings it out."

"Yup. And who knew Sora had such an aggressive side? The way you crap on Xion is just hilarious." Sora held pride to this as he smiled. "And if you're okay with it…" Roxas didn't even need to finish his sentence for Sora to get the drift. Coming over to Roxas, Sora patted him hard on the shoulder.

"Dude, just take her! Take her and make her yours. Get the girl you've always wanted."

"I regret telling you anything," Roxas groaned as he pushed the brunet away. "We're far from that stage. I'm barely even friends with her since I've kept her away so much. You're shipping a couple that has no substance."

"Then build substance!"

"I don't need to hear that from you."

Sora grinned as he ran a finger underneath his nose and let out a hum. He stood up and returned to sitting on his bed.

"Kairi though. She's amazing, isn't she?" Because he was on the bed, Sora didn't see how Roxas smirked mischievously. When Sora told him how he didn't like Namine anymore, Roxas couldn't completely believe that. Now, he could see why.

"Definitely."

"You know, that's something I've always admired about you too."

"Huh? What are you talking about?"

"You just know how to deal with things so well. Your reliable nature, your smart-thinking, just how you handle things is just really admirable. It's no surprise that Kairi got close to you and was able to confide in you."

He didn't see how Roxas frowned slightly, confused about what he was saying.

"Um, I'm not sure what you're basing all this off, but Kairi and I aren't that close. Confide? She hasn't really confided in me. It has actually been the other way around. _I_ was the one who confided in her. I was the one who did all the talking. Which is a little bit ironic to me."

Sora sprawled back onto the ground to Roxas so that he could see his face directly.

"Wait, what do you mean? Don't you know about what happened to her and stuff? She told you, didn't she?"

Roxas shook his head and waved a hand at his neck. "Sora, I have no idea what you're talking about. Kairi has told me nothing about _whatever_ you're implying. We barely talk outside of school. We don't even message each other or anything online."

"I'm so deeply confused right now."

"And I'm confused about what you're confused about. I'll answer all your questions right now. I swear I'm not lying."

"The nurse's office," Sora blurted out, not realizing how he was basically admitting to the fact that he eavesdropped on them. "I heard her crying. I thought that you were, you know, cheering her up and stuff."

"Jesus, so it was you," Roxas said with a roll of his eyes, "When that door suddenly cracked open, I got super spooked. Yes, I was cheering her up, but she didn't tell me anything. She just suddenly started crying and I just happened to be there."

Dumbfounded, Sora stared at Roxas, seeing if he was kidding with him right now. Roxas only gave him a look of amusement. A weird and very unnecessary thought popped into Sora's mind at that moment.

 _She told only me._

"All this time and I thought you guys were… wait, so how did you even start talking to her then? I swear you guys are like super good friends or something."

"It's not like we need a big reason to be good friends or anything," Roxas explained. "I felt that we… were very similar in many ways," His amusement levels now were sky-high as he watched the eager Sora search for answers about his friendship with Kairi. He probably didn't even realize how he was on the edge of his seat trying to figure it out. "And even though I don't know much about her, I just knew we were similar. So, it was very easy for me to talk to her and vice-versa. That's about it, Sora. Whatever else you're thinking about, you're just imagining it. Me liking her? You're funny."

Sora blushed, a bit embarrassed. "Well, I'm sorry. There's always some sort of mysterious air between you guys. As if there's secrets just floating above you."

"I mean, we did talk to each other about, well, _me_ that I never really told anyone before, so that's probably why. Now I'm telling you. Do we seem less mysterious now?"

"… I guess."

"I never knew, Sora," Sora narrowed his eyes slightly when Roxas's tone suddenly shifted. He didn't like the sound of that. "I never knew you could be so curious about my friendships."

"I'm just wondering. I'm not curious." That just sounded utterly stupid in Sora's brain— "curious" and "wondering" were basically two peas in a pod—but it was the best excuse he could come up with. Roxas gave him a smug look.

"Right… It's not like it's because Kairi's involved or anything like that."

"Yeah. Exactly."

Roxas simply left it at that, not wanting to dig any deeper than he had to. He'll just let time play its role.

"We've gotten off-topic. Namine."

"Yeah," Sora nodded. "I'll do something about it. _We'll_ do something about it. Right?" Roxas nodded with him. "I think waiting for her to do something isn't the answer. Roxas, you're going to watch me transform into the greatest hunting dog ever. She's not going to escape anymore this time."

"Make sure you don't scare her with your own rampant emotions," Roxas jokingly warned. At the same time, he was serious though. "It's not like you're any better with this kind of stuff. You're exactly like her, letting your emotions do the talking instead of your head."

"Gee, thanks."

"And… watch over Kairi too." Roxas's expression suddenly started to look a bit grave, concerning Sora a little bit.

"Hm? What's wrong?"

"I forgot to mention… she heard everything."

"Confused."

"Aren't you always?" This earned him a slap on the shoulder. "When I was talking with Namine in the hallway… she was there." It took Sora a while to connect together what he was saying. His mouth dropped open.

"Like… _everything_?"

"Everything."

"Everything-everything? Including when Namine practically dissed her?"

Roxas nodded slowly.

Sora let out a long, long groan. Things were already complicated, and now Kairi had to get mixed up too. Kairi, Sora concluded, was a very sensitive person. He couldn't even imagine how Kairi felt when she heard those words spill from Namine's mouth.

"And there's Riku too, by the way. You know, I never liked him," Roxas said, deciding that this was the time to just confess about everything on his mind. "But… I feel like he's fixable."

"God, everything's just hitting me at once again. I talked to Riku, if you didn't know that."

"Kind of already figured when I didn't see you guys together at _all_."

"I got pissed."

"That's rare."

"I have a lot of things to fix."

"You're not the only one."

Sora stretched out his palm facing upwards.

"Let's fix everything together. How about it?"

Roxas grinned and gave him a high-five.

"I got less shit to fix, but sure. I'll help you."

And then Sora suddenly enclosed him into a headlock, earning a grunt of complaint from the blond.

"You know, Roxas, I always thought we were always distant with each other, but I'm glad we had this talk! Boys talking about emotions actually isn't a bad thing! Love you, Roxas, you know that?"

"Please don't hug me." But Roxas joined in the laughter as he struggled to escape the spiky-haired boy's grip.

Sora was determined: he was to make everything right again. Not only to make himself happy, but everyone happy.

~.~.~

 _Slam!_

Kairi stiffened when Riku slammed the side of his fist onto the lockers to stop her from moving. However, she kept her eyes trained on him as his icy eyes bore into her. Unblinking, she gave him a questioning look. At this rate, she just knew she was going to miss the bus back home.

"Hi… Riku."

"Hello, _Kairi_ ," he responded back, but it was anything but cordial. He got close to her, a tactic he always used to intimidate her—to install fear in her. So, he didn't expect it when she continued to remain unmoving despite his advances. "I think we need a little… _talk._ "

Kairi didn't know what they even had to talk about—he had no business with her and she had no business with him—but she played along anyways.

"… Sure."

She tried not to wince when his finger taunting leafed through the ends of her hair.

"Sounds _great._ "

* * *

So like, I thought writer's block really killed me last chapter. This time, writer's block completely and utterly DESTROYED me. Literally, this chapter could've come out a lot faster because I didn't really have a lot of work to do this week, but I absolutely had no idea what to write. Omg, I kept hitting backspace, highlighting and deleting chunks of my work, and stared at my screen wondering what the hell to write. Honestly this chapter just came out of my ass, but I was like "it's okay, it'll let me expand on stuff." So I explored the foil of Roxas and Sora more (something I failed to develop in the earlier chapters) and get some of that bromance going BUT STILL

Maybe I'm just a little bit too critical on myself, but I find this chapter the worst of the worst in terms of quality and FSOIDLJFOWSDKLFF Anyway hope you guys enjoyed this though. Roxas and Sora friendship in this chapter was not intended but it happened anyway.

Also, sorry if there's any typos here. Yo girl here be updating at 3 am. I'm super tired xD

Thank you, thank you for reviewing guys. Like every time I get a review, inspiration just shoots up, so please do continue to give non-flame criticism! I literally just powered through this chapter by re-reading reviews and looking at view count, so they really do mean a lot to me!

Enter replies to reviews here. I'm sorry guys, I'm actually just so tired, but just know I appreciate y'all. *hits the bed*

p.s sorry for my always-long A/N, i'm just always feeling a myriad of things every time I finish a chapter :)


	17. Chapter 17

Namine let out an anguished groan as she accidentally ruined her painting with an accidental swipe of red amongst the pastel colors with her paintbrush. Deciding that it was way too late into the night to paint—yes, she considered midnight late like a healthy human being—she cleaned all her materials and washed all the paint off her fingers in the bathroom before she flopped onto her bed. She reveled the way her foam bed sank beneath her before she flipped to her side and turned the lights off. Blindly searching for her phone on the side, she made sure to put it on night-mode, or else she'll never get any sleep done.

Namine had momentarily forgotten what the wallpaper for her phone was, so when she unlocked it, she let out a huge sigh.

It was a picture of her and Sora posing lamely in front of a camera during homecoming in freshman year. Sora had one arm draped around Namine's shoulder while his other held up a finger gun at the camera. Namine had a hand up to touch her tiara while her other joined Sora with the finger gun. Across their chests were sashes with the words "Homecoming Prince" and "Homecoming Princess" printed fancifully across their lengths.

It was the year that both of them were part of the homecoming court. Of course, this was all because of Sora's popularity—something he obliviously never knew he had—and Namine somehow managed to get her name put on the online poll as well. Looking at the picture made her smile a bit. It was the best year to be part of the homecoming court since most of the cool upperclassmen were in it too. And because of that, Sora and Namine were always envied because of how they were part of the "legendary generation" that year.

If only they knew how many times Sora stepped on her feet during dance practice.

Namine shut her phone off when she realized how there was no point in reminiscing about old and happy memories when the present was anything but. For a whole week, she refused to talk to _anyone_ , much less Sora. Why, she didn't even know herself. Nothing drastic even happen. It wasn't as if she and Sora had an earth-shattering fight that shook the very ground beneath them. It wasn't as if Sora was purposely ignoring her—the boy texted her two days after their _whatever_ with no hints of anger shadowing his words. He sincerely apologized through text about his "moody episode" and that he didn't mean to "lash it out on her" and that he hoped that they "wouldn't continue ignoring each other like this."

No, it was all because of her _feelings._ Her complicated, internal feelings.

Feelings. Those things were never simple.

It was the growing shame that manifested inside her, something that grew without her ever noticing it before it became an untamed wild _beast._ The way she let her negativity cloud her thinking and let it surface into her actions. Namine wanted nothing more than to jump into a pool and never come back up at the way she gave Roxas a good emotional blasting in the hallways. She could clearly remember the way he remained civil with her the whole time while she became a rabid raccoon and spouted things she probably didn't even mean.

Namine laughed at herself.

Who was she kidding, she meant _every_ word she said.

Which was why she was too repulsed at herself to even approach Sora and Roxas or anyone for that matter. To harbor such emotions that she didn't even know she was capable of—how could she ever look them both in the eye anymore? She couldn't let them see her like this, to see her at what she could confidently claim as the ugliest she has ever been. If Xion, a mere _stranger_ , could see through her, then she might as well be a freaking transparent sheet of paper to Sora and Roxas. Maybe not Sora—he was a bit slow sometimes—but Roxas definitely. And Roxas with his inquisitive and observant gaze was one of the things she feared the most about him.

She wasn't mad at them either to avoid them like the plague. And it killed her to avoid their presence every time her eyes landed on their figures during break and lunch. It wasn't hard to spot them either—her eyes were already trained to spot spiky-hair amongst the mass. And it absolutely _destroyed_ her when she saw how easily they adjusted without her. Kairi began eating lunch with them, and Xion and Axel suddenly branched off from the Org more recently to join them in their laughter as well. It made her realize how insignificant she might've been to them to get used to her lack of presence. But no, this also wasn't a reason why she ran way from them like a neighborhood cat.

It was because of a simple reason—she needed space. Space to think. Space to collect herself. Space to launch an attempt at collecting all the negativity that scattered like marbles on the floor and put it back into a jar, lid shut tight. If she couldn't, then she could never summon the courage to ever talk to them again.

 _Xion's right, Kairi did nothing wrong. I should be happy for them. I should be with them while they're happy. I shouldn't be feeling like this to a person I barely even know._

 _But why… despite all these attempts at rational thinking…_

 _I can't._

~.~.~

Roxas was on the way to the cafeteria when he spotted a wisp of silver hair disappear from the corner he was about to intersect. Gently tugging one of his earphones off his ear, the blond curiously watched Riku's sauntering figure march down the hallway, purpose resonating from his feet with each step he took. It looked like he had a certain destination to go to.

"Haven't seen him for a while," Roxas muttered to himself before he stuffed his earphone back into his ear. It didn't really strike him odd yet until he bumped into Kairi when he turned another corner.

"Roxas," Kairi breathed, immediately taking a step back from his sudden appearance. Roxas was about to apologize for the slight brush of their shoulders, but it caught him off guard when he didn't have to. She seemed to be okay with it as she continued speaking. "Sorry."

"It's okay. The usual at corners," he said, this time pulling both his earphones off and stuffing them into his windbreaker pocket. He curiously glanced behind her to look at the cafeteria doors. "Um, are you getting the direction wrong or…?"

"Ah, I won't be eating lunch with you guys today. I, uh, am going to eat… alone." she explained hesitantly. If Roxas had known Kairi a bit better, he would've noticed how voice was quieter than usual. He did notice how shakier her voice was, but he blamed it on the cold January and didn't think much of it. Not questioning her decision—it was normal for Kairi to eat lunch by herself sometimes—Roxas nodded in understanding before he watched her disappear towards the same general direction Riku took. His eyes lazily noticed the length of her burning hair as she swiftly went her way.

 _It grew longer._

With a small smile gracing his lips, Roxas turned around and entered the cafeteria. There, his feet automatically took him to the table where him, Sora, Axel, and Xion took refuge.

"Hey," he greeted all of them as he settled all his bags onto the floor. "Axel and Xion, back to the copying each other's homework during lunch, huh? Shake my head at you guys."

"Hey, I have only two words: fuck physics," Axel snarled as he furiously wrote on his paper. "Xion, switch papers. You copy this one first and then I'll copy that one later." On the side, Sora only watched them with an amused glint in his eyes.

"At least I grind through it at the night and not at school," Sora said proudly, chin rested on a palm. "Go, go, go, time waits for no one."

"Hey, Sora."

"Hm?" Sora casted his eyes on Roxas. "What's up?"

"Why didn't you stop Kairi?"

"Huh? From what?" Sora raised a brow.

Roxas jerked a thumb over to the entrance of the cafeteria. "From leaving."

"Uh, why should I?"

It didn't take Roxas long to realize that they were not on the same page.

"She said she was going to eat lunch alone," Roxas stated. Sora's expression morphed into one of confusion.

"She said she had to see someone."

This made Roxas do a double-take. Who else could she talk to? Sora, the one that was probably the closest to her, him, and Xion were here. _What the._

Roxas honestly didn't know how he had the power of piecing everything together. If he told some random person about it, they would probably think he was crazy or something. At that moment, the picture of Riku's unusually heavy steps and Kairi's shaky ones towards the same general direction gave him a bad feeling. _It couldn't be._

"Roxas, what's wrong?" Sora asked, a frown creasing his forehead. Roxas's thinking look never gave good vibes. "Want to let me in on your brain?"

"I might just be overthinking it," Roxas admitted.

"Roxas Fair overthinking about something is worth paying attention to," Sora countered, shooting him a challenging look. Roxas clicked his tongue and looked at Axel and Xion. They paid no attention to their conversation as they desperately raced against time.

"Let's play spy today. I'm pretty sure you're good at that, aren't you?" Roxas smirked.

" _Pfft_ , I have no idea what you're talking about," Sora grinned as he stood up from his table. He ruffled Xion's head to mess with her, successfully emitting what sounded like a dog growl before he followed Roxas to wherever he was heading.

~.~.~

Kairi closed her eyes for half a second before opening them and inhaling through her nose slowly and silently as her violet-blue eyes clashed with his cyan ones. Her arms itched to do something—she had no books to hug to her chest this time. With back against the wall and hands slightly trembling, Kairi tried her hardest to remain unmoved as Riku's silent and slicing gaze observed her.

"I didn't expect you to actually come and meet me."

"… What did you expect?"

"You to run with your tail between your legs," he half-smirked, half-spat.

The silver-haired looked a lot different compared to the middle school image Kairi remembered quite well. He was taller, more muscular, and definitely more intimidating. His long hair tied in a ponytail and a few chains that hung near the pockets of his jeans didn't help either.

"You said to meet here," Kairi spoke quietly, a bit confused about what kind of game Riku wanted to play with her. Seeing how she wasn't reacting the way he wanted her to, he let out an annoyed sigh and crossed his toned arms over his chest. There wasn't much she could do with her back against the wall already as he hovered over her. Getting close—that was what he always did whenever he talked to her.

"You're suddenly all feisty, aren't you?" he said lowly. He laughed, but there was no warmth behind it at all. He flexed the muscle of his arm to mock her. "Think you're all big and tough now, huh? Just because you got a few people on your side now?"

"There are no sides here, Riku," she tried to say, but her breath hitched at the end of her sentence when Riku walked two fingers in the air teasingly, just a hair width away from touching her shoulder.

"Oh, don't play dumb with me. There's no way you could grow such blunt fangs in such a short amount of time. It's okay, though; they're not at sharp at all. Tell me. What did you say to Sora and even Roxie to make them like this?" Kairi frowned. _Like what?_

"I didn't do anything."

"Shut up."

Kairi's heart lurched out of her ribcage when Riku slammed the side of his fist against the cement wall of the school building beside her head. "Nothing was wrong between us—any of us—before you suddenly busted your sorry self into everything. Roxas suddenly flamed me and Sora just shunned me. You think they would do that all of a sudden?"

Kairi knew that if she answered, it wouldn't turn out good for her. Even if she was allowed to answer, she wouldn't even know what she would answer with. Sora? Roxas? They never said anything about the silver-haired. She knew that there was something going on between him and Sora by the way Sora avoided him, but she didn't know any of the details behind it.

"I'm sorry," was the only thing she deemed was feasible enough as a response that wouldn't anger the scary boy. However, her previous thought about how everything she said would probably trigger him was proven correct as he barked at her.

"Sorry? You think a sorry can make everything better? Look at what your existence did to me!" Kairi yelped when Riku grabbed the collar of her shirt and pulled her close to his face menacingly. "Broke my friend group, made my friends turn their back against me, scarred me like _this!_ "

"I'm sorry," Kairi choked, feeling rising fear bubbling in the bit of her stomach like a witch's cauldron. His threatening hold on her was the trigger to activate her phobia as the usual and familiar panic and anxiety rushed through her veins.

Why she was saying sorry, she didn't know. But it wasn't like she didn't mean it. She did. She just did. She did not know what she did to have to apologize like this, to be gripped so violently like this, but even so, from the bottom of her heart, she meant it. She could see it.

The anguish in his eyes.

"You would think that you would be casted as a nobody when you entered high school, but here you are again, somehow interfering with my life in such huge ways that I can honestly call it a damn superpower," he continued to spit in her face, not caring how pale or scared or shaken Kairi was as he roughly held onto her. "Painted a villain in front of my best friend. You must be silently laughing behind my back, aren't you?"

"I-I-I would n-never," Kairi managed to cough out as she tried to get out of his grip, but those muscles weren't there for show. He liked it, seeing her squirm in fear from him. Feeling powerful before her, unlike in middle school where he just ran away with _his_ tail between his legs.

"Show me how you tricked everyone with this innocent façade of yours."

"Riku, please," Kairi could feel herself start to hyperventilate as her vision started to destabilize and blur because of her widened and strained eyes. Tears already blotted her eyes as she looked at his fiery eyes. "N-no one is laughing at you."

"Says who?"

"Sora and Roxas would never hate you," she continued to speak, her voice evidently showing her close she was to completely losing it. "No one ever painted you a villain, and I'm s-s-sorry for whatever I d-did to—" she started to choke as, finally, her fear completely took over her and she started to gasp between each and every word. "—to you. I—" gasp "—talk." Three quick breaths." Please communicate. No one h-h-hates you. I…

"I don't hate you."

And she started to scream and cry as her phobia took over her with full force. Riku could only gape as her as he felt his own hand loosen its hold on her shirt.

"Get away from her, Riku. If you don't let go of her right now, I'll _make_ you."

At the sound of the all too familiar voice, Riku immediately let Kairi go and took a step back away from the redhead. Kairi slumped to the ground as her cries roared louder than the winter winds as her panic attack victimized her, something it hadn't done for a while. Riku could only stare at the redhead, as if mystified at what he did, what she said, and what just happened. His eyes were wide as watched her.

"You don't hate me?" he asked, voice void of its previous outrage. "N-no, you're supposed to hate me. What are you doing?" He shook his head, wondering why she was like this, even when he knew that _he_ was the reason. "You're not supposed to be like this, you—"

"Don't come closer to her."

Riku got roughly pushed away as he stumbled two steps back. It didn't make him lose his balance, but it felt like it did as his eyes locked with those familiar blue crystal orbs.

"Namine," he dumbly said. "What are you doing here?" The way her eyes flared at him was the last thing he expected to see right now.

~.~.~

"Roxas, mind telling me what's gotten you all jittery?" Sora asked as he followed right behind the blond through the hallways. Left, right, right. "I would actually like to know what you're thinking right now?"

"First of all, I'm not jittery. I'm just… fearing something a little bit," Roxas corrected, but it didn't sound convincing. "And if I'm correct, you'll see soon. If I'm not, then there's nothing to worry about."

"So it's something worthy enough to be worried about, huh?" was what Sora was able to deduce from Roxas's words. The blond simply shrugged as he strolled rather comfortably through the hallways. In truth, he had no idea where he was going—he was just going towards what seemed to be the general direction Kairi and Riku took. He didn't want to look for them anyway; the last thing he wanted to see was the two of them together. Knowing Riku, it wouldn't be good. That guy was just so full of…

Resentment. Contempt. Hate.

Hate.

"Hey, Sora. Have you ever hated someone?" Roxas blurted randomly, causing Sora to actually spend a few seconds to process what the blond just asked him.

"I don't think so. Why?"

"You don't get angry?"

"Of course, I get angry, idiot."

"But you don't hate?"

Sora chuckled as he shook his head.

"Not really."

"What if someone just slaughtered everyone you knew and loved?" Roxas adorned a sheepish look when Sora gave him a weird look with all these questions before he answered.

"If you say it like that, then I'd probably hate the person for a while."

"A while? What's that supposed to mean?"

"Hate is a very tiresome thing to, I don't know, harbor," Sora decided to say, wondering if what he said made sense. Right now, Roxas was trying to talk life with him right now, and Sora didn't do too well with life questions. But he was at least trying his best to. "It takes energy. Time. Hate exists, but honestly, it's just temporary, Or, at least I would hope it's temporary.

"It seems like the easiest thing to resort to. But if I were to be really honest here, it's probably the hardest thing to do. It's draining to do something we aren't meant to do for a long time. After all, I think everyone in this world wants to love instead of hate. Once you let it go, it's like lifting a huge burden you never realized even grew in the first place."

When he didn't receive an answer, Sora began to grow conscious—maybe he answered the question a little bit too seriously and deeply. Ready to conjure up some joke to dispel the philosophical mood he just pulled, Sora was silenced but relieved when Roxas chuckled and bumped the side of Sora's shoulder with a fist.

"Funny. I was thinking the same thing. Hey, this way."

Not hearing any voices indoors, Roxas decided to just check the outside with a quick look before he gave up on this paranoid thought of his.

"See what you're, er, looking for?" said the still-confused Sora. "I hope you don't."

"I don't think I—"

A distant but not too far sound of what seemed like a cry was heard loud and clear within earshot. The two didn't even need to question each other to know who it was coming from before they briskly made their way to the origin.

"What the hell is going on, Roxas? I think it's time to tell me now," Sora urged, knowing whose voice that was from a mile away. As they got closer, they could begin to hear every gasp of breath.

"I saw Riku and Kairi—wait," Roxas stopped behind a tree and shot an arm out to stop Sora from advancing. The brunet gave him a weird look, questioning why the blond stopped him silently with his gaze. He got his answer when he followed Roxas's line of sight.

An angry and stomping blonde-haired girl.

"Namine?"

* * *

Legit all my classes planned my 10-week schedule in a way so that I have at least 2 midterms/quizzes/essays due every damn week. I had my Saturday midterm today, and my brain was is so dead that I cannot function right now (currently posting this chapter at ~4 am). Even though this chapter is hella short, this is seriously the best I can do for being unable to update for the past two weeks, so I'm sorry guys! Hopefully I can find some more time next week (expect another chapter and hopefully a longer next week) to write, so be on the look out.

I repeat, it's 4 a.m. I think I'll always be updating this late because it's the only time I'm available, so I don't think I will be replying to reviews for a while (I'll PM though hehe).

Thank you for your guy's utmost support in this story. Knowing how people are anticipating every chapter made this chapter possible.

I happily say that my writer's block is significantly cured hehe so this chapter didn't take too long to write :) But because this chapter was written so spontaneously, I also worry about it's quality, but y'all seem be absorbing this stuff real good, so that's encouraging!

Enjoy! Please do leave a review hehe. I luv them so very much :)


	18. Chapter 18

_"Oh dear, oh dear, did you have a tough time at school again?"_

 _Kairi tried not to cry in front of her mother as she sat on the chair, refusing to lift up her fork to eat her afterschool-lunch. The hints of laughter tried not to break on her mother's face as she watched her daughter suck all the tears back in—or at least tried to._

 _"People are mean," Kairi sniffs, hands defiantly stuck on her lap. Instead of looking at her mother's eyes, the redhead focused her attentions on the flies flying outside through the window. "Super mean. I hate them! School sucks."_

 _"School doesn't suck, Kairi," her mother chides as she grabs the fork and shoves it into the tiny girl's hand. "Everyone goes through that phase—I'm sure it'll pass for you soon."_

 _"I don't believe that. People will always be mean," Kairi tries to argue, but the intimidation she attempts to display is dampened by the broccoli in her mouth. "I hate everyone."_

 _"What did I say about being negative?"_

 _"… whatever."_

 _Kairi's mother sighed as she crossed her arms and gave her daughter the look. Kairi tried to ignore it as she dutifully ate her late lunch. "Do you want to be a big girl or a little girl?"_

 _"I'm already a big girl!"_

 _"Not with that type of attitude."_

 _Kairi continued to pout as her mother stroked her hair gently, a small smile gracing her lips. She didn't understand why her mom just didn't get it. The kids were mean, so why what was wrong with disliking them?_

 _"You know, Kairi, it might seem easy to do, but putting someone on a hate list is so much more tedious than you think," her mother explained, chuckling a bit when her confused daughter heard the word "tedious." "It just takes so much energy to remind yourself that, 'Oh, I'm supposed to be hating this person right now—I must continue.' Don't you think?"_

 _"… I guess." The small redhead barely understood what she was even talking about, but she only humored her to make her stop talking. Knowing her daughter quite well, the mother simply ruffled her hair in a loving manner._

 _"You'll understand someday. And by then, I hope things are easier for you. No, it will be."_

~.~.~

"Dude, this isn't cool."

Riku stared dumbly at the blonde, who had just given him a rough shove to the chest to make him back off. On a normal basis, he never found her anything close to intimidating, but the look in her eyes just told her that she was beyond Earth's limits of furious. His eyes darted down to Kairi, who was now on the ground as her eyes focused solely on the floor. She had recovered from her thirty-second panic attack, but the after-effects left her numb as she took deep breaths to calm herself down.

"You just came out of nowhere, didn't you?" Riku smirked, eyes coming back to Namine as he tried to reclaim back his cool, but Namine wasn't having any of it.

"You think it's alright to just—" she looked back and forth between Riku and Kairi, stumped at what word could even represent this entire issue, "—to just _harass_ her? What are you trying to get from this, Riku? What is your _aim_ here?" She didn't intend for her voice to crack at the last sentence, but she herself was just so overwhelmed. "Do you think that it's alright to—"

"I'm just sick of her, is all," Riku interrupts coldly. The last thing he wanted to hear was a gigantic mouthful. "Just… _sick_ of seeing her right in front of my face."

"What did she even do to you?" Namine whispered fiercely, her face morphed with unfathomable emotions. Even though she was spouting all these righteous words as if she _knew_ , she couldn't help but take part with his role as a villain as well. The hypocrisy behind her words made her sick to the stomach—the words she spoke not only needed to be voiced out to Riku, but to her as well. _What exactly did she do?_

"Everything," Riku snarled, his anger at the girl clouding whatever reason he had left, "Just everything."

"That's what you think, but do you know what's really wrong?" Namine stabbed a finger in the air towards Riku, "You and your disgustingly huge inferiority complex. It needs to tone _down_. I legit have never met _anyone_ with a complex as big as yours. Get it fixed before you even come near her."

Honest to the gods, Namine had no idea where this courage to spit insults was even originating from. With Riku looking like he could explode at any moment, Namine wondered why her mouth didn't close earlier. "How old are we now, seventeen? This isn't something about elementary or middle school anymore! Grow up alr—"

"What the hell did you just say to me?" Riku menacingly took a step forward, reclaiming the space Namine pushed him out of. She took a step back, only for him to take another. "Do you really think I'm going to let you crap on me like that? I dare you to say all that again right now. Right _here._ "

She knew that he wouldn't do anything—he at least knew his limits, she hoped—but that didn't stop her from fearing him. His huge build over her small one was the least assuring while the strain of his jaw showed how he was close to just erupting. But it didn't stop her from readying herself to say even more.

Before her mouth could do its job, a hand sliced the space between them.

"Guys, enough already."

Both Namine and Riku snapped out of the fervor of their fight as their eyes darted between the Sora that was now separating them and the Roxas that was crouched on the ground with Kairi. Sora prepared for the worst-case scenario by pushing Namine back behind him so that she wouldn't have a potential flare up. He doubted she would, but the girl was ferocious sometimes. His blue eyes searched Riku's, silently conveying their questions about the whole situation. Riku only stared back with surprise at Sora's and Roxas's intervention.

"Sora," Namine gasped as her fingers lightly brushed the sleeve of his jacket. "What are you—"

"Both of you, freaking _cool it_ ," Sora asserted, removing himself a little bit from Namine. He wasn't particularly on anyone's side about this. He made sure to show his disapproval by sending the both of them looks. "Nothing's gonna get anywhere when you guys are ready to scratch each other's eyes out—knock it off."

"Sora," Riku attempted to speak to the boy, but Sora instantly waved him off with a hand.

"Dude, seriously, don't talk to me until you go dunk your head in an ice tub or something because no thinking can be made with it right now. That goes for the both of you actually."

Everyone was a bit taken aback by how there was no signs of the chippy Sora—only an upset one. Riku didn't say anything in response. The four pairs of eyes that were all now on him made him freeze. He felt vulnerable, being silently stared down by those blue eyes that seemed to search his entire being.

Especially Kairi's.

The eye contact they made was, in real-time, very brief, but to Riku, it felt longer than was necessary. Her expression was blank, and with her hair that stuck out messily from all her panic-induced pulling, she almost looked like a feral child. However, the intense emotions that swam in her eyes was enough for him to look away, turn around, and remove himself from the place.

"This past week has sure been something else," everyone heard Roxas mutter as he sighed and fully sat on the floor next to Kairi. He peered at her slightly down-casted face and raised an eyebrow worriedly. "You feeling okay?"

Kairi merely nodded.

Sora's gaze watched Riku's back disappear back towards the center of campus before he ripped his eyes away and pulled them back to Kairi. It was his first time ever seeing her panic like that. He wanted it to be his last.

Namine bit her bottom lip as she looked between Sora and Roxas, whose attention was on the slowly-recovering Kairi. Once again feeling like there was no place for her here, she turned around and was about take the same path as Riku's, but Sora's familiar hand grabbed her by the crook of the elbow and turned her back around.

"I've been chasing you after you like a wild deer for the past week—you're not getting away this time," he sighed, glad that he was able to finally hold her down.

"You know," Namine tried to pry his fingers off, but he was dead serious about not letting her go, "I have to go, er, somewhere." Sora raised a quizzical brow, not at all buying it. She looked at Kairi and Roxas, who were now saying inaudible things to each other. Feeling so out of place, she began to grow desperate for an escape.

"Hey, you're talking to me here, don't look at them." Sora moved his head so that their eyes could lock once more. "Want to tell me what's up any time soon?"

Namine was never strong against Sora whenever he looked at her so seriously like that, so she simply looked somewhere that weren't his eyes. "You know, Sora, I really do have to go somewhere. Kairi isn't feeling well, so maybe you should go and—"

"Kairi's fine, but you're not, so I'm not going anywhere," Sora sharply interrupted her. His frown melted to reveal the sadness that plagued him the entire week of not having her by his side. Namine didn't expect this sudden attack from him, so for some odd reason, her eyes pricked. If he said anymore…

Feeling that she won't be running off somewhere, he loosened his grip on her arm and returned his hand to his side. "You're one gigantic hypocrite."

"Excuse me?"

"You know what I'm talking about."

"I don't." Of course, Namine knew what he was talking about, but being the stubborn person she was, she didn't want to admit to anything. She felt embarrassed at how she had lashed out on him numerous times before about the same issue. Knowing this fully well, Sora humored her anyway.

"You're always taking me out to grill over an open fire whenever I'm all secretive," he half-jokes. "So I'll be doing the same to you every time you give me this silent treatment."

"I'm not giving you the silent treatment, I'm just—I just…" Namine struggled to explain herself; it wasn't easy to just spill the storm raging within her just like that. Especially in the presence of Kairi and Roxas too, she didn't want to show anymore of a bad appearance. However, she didn't have to.

"I'm not going to force anything out of you," Sora said with a small smile. He swung his foot a little bit in the air as he tried to figure out the right words to say. It made Namine jump when he loudly placed his foot back down on the ground. "I won't force it out of you, but that doesn't mean that I don't want to hear about it. Instead of running away, I just want you to speak to me. Whatever problem you have, I'm there for you. I've always have been, and I'll never be anywhere else. And if you didn't know that, then fine; that's okay. Makes me sad a little bit, but I'll say it now so that you'll know from today on.

"Because Namine, you're my best friend. You always were and always will be. I'm not going to suddenly think any worse about you—heh, 'cause I'm seen quite a lot of things already." This earned him a slightly offended glare, but he took it as a good sign. "Whatever dark thoughts you may be having, I'll take it. 'Cause I know who you are, and a few unsettling thoughts aren't going to suddenly change my mind about you. Okay?"

Sora gave her a weak smile, hoping that what he said was enough to get his message across. It had been something he wanted to tell her all week, and now that he has, he just wants her to understand. His smile was beginning to waver when Namine failed to respond, but in the next moment, he found himself enclosed in a hug.

She didn't say anything, and only hid her face onto his shoulder. He was quick to respond back to her hug, softly patting her head in the process.

"Idiot," he added for one last measure before he felt her tears begin to wet his shirt. "You're an idiot."

 _And there's another idiot like you out there._

"Gee, how romantic," Roxas kidded lightly to himself and Kairi as he looked away from the two friends. However, he felt like that was the wrong thing to say when he saw how Kairi couldn't look away from the two. It was only a speculation, but maybe… "I'm kidding. They're like blood sisters."

"It's nothing," she murmurs, suddenly feeling conscious about her hair. She smoothed it out the best she could before she gave up and began to mess with her fingers. "Sorry."

"There's nothing to be sorry about," Roxas reassures. "You apologize way too much."

"Sorry. It's because I truly am."

"You know, I've been wanting to mention this for a while now," Roxas awkwardly did a crab walk so that he could face Kairi on the ground. She looked at him, wondering what he had in store for her. "Because all you do is say sorry, don't you? To everyone you think you're burdening."

"…"

"It's time we learn how to say 'thank you' more than 'sorry'."

"Hm?"

"'Thank you for being here for me' or 'thank you for listening to me' instead of 'sorry for bothering you' or 'sorry for talking so much.' Just a few suggestions. Don't you think that's better? Here, just say it to me."

"Roxas…"

"Quick crash course lesson we be doing here. Say it. At least humor me here." Roxas's lighthearted way of speaking made Kairi laugh a little bit.

"Thank you for being here for me."

"Your welcome."

Kairi blinked at Roxas while he gave her an expectant look. For some reason, that single phrase made her spirits lift up immensely.

"It feels different."

"See? That's what we're going to be aiming for from now on. It's better for you and me and everyone else, m'kay?"

Kairi simply nodded, wondering when she could be like Roxas and say uplifting things like this some day to someone else.

"The lunch's growing cold, Roxas. Maybe get a bite before class starts."

The two stopped their conversation and looked up at Sora, who finished his business with Namine. The blonde had left to go ahead for reasons unknown, but based on Sora's expression, things must've worked out well. Roxas gave him a questioning look before he stood up from the ground and dusted his pants.

"Didn't know you cared about my eating habits, Sora," Roxas smirked, getting the hint of what he wanted. "Where did Namine head off to?"

"She didn't want to talk to you, so she scrammed," Sora deadpanned in retaliation. Both Roxas and Kairi didn't know if he was joking or not before he jerked a thumb at a direction. "She went that-a-way. Maybe you should go after her and—alright, leave before hearing the rest," Sora clicked his tongue at Roxas's quickly-retreating back, not appreciating how he just left, but smiled anyway. He turned his attention back to Kairi, who found it embarrassing how she was still on the ground and stood up. She breathed slowly but fully—her episode left her a tiny bit breathless.

"Hi," she said awkwardly when Sora simply continued to look at her. She wondered what was wrong.

"You are quite bold, aren't you?" he chuckled, earning a confused look from her. "Seeing you and Riku alone gave me quite a shock. Were you not scared?"

Of course, she was scared. Facing Riku head on was one of the last situations she ever expected to find herself in, but…

"I just wanted to talk things out," she simply answered, her fingers continuing to weave through each other, in and out. "Just to… talk." And solve things not only to make things better for her. Make things better for Roxas. Make things better for Sora. Make things better for everyone who suddenly got their peace destroyed because of her. She wanted to solve everything since she believed it was her responsibility, but it just felt like she took another step back with the way things turned out now.

 _And to think I've gotten somewhere…_

"It's magical how I know you enough now to know your thought process is," Sora said, snapping her out of her spiraling negativity. She felt exposed, and she didn't like it—even if it was Sora. Not wanting to completely put her on the spot, he shook his head and grinned. "I just want to let you know that… you're doing the best. So I think that's something to be proud of, okay?"

Kairi's throat hitched when Sora reached out a slow hand towards her head. Her hair was not at all fixed. He wanted to get it all straight and pretty again, but his hand stopped right before he could touch her. Considering how she just recovered from her episode with her shaken stature and heavy breathing, he figured that it wasn't the best to try anything on her and immediately dropped his hand back to his side. "Don't look so down. Riku's difficult. I would know. You don't have to—"

"I want to try again," Kairi blurted out, causing him to jolt a little bit at her sudden declaration. "It's okay, right?"

Sora frowned. Her encounter with Riku today was not the best. He didn't want it to repeat, and he didn't want to see her like that anymore. "You don't have to force yourself to do something that causes you to—"

"I want to try my best at this, Sora."

Kairi adorned a frown; the thought of just letting this sort of situation continue made her extremely unsettled. Sora was against the whole idea of her attempting to talk to Riku again—it could be something he could sort out himself—but with the look on Kairi's face, he couldn't go against her. A revelation came to him at that exact moment her eyes remained on his without ever going away.

He doesn't need to protect her from anything anymore. Kairi, the girl who was so fragile a few months ago, suddenly seemed so confident. Confident about her decision, and confident about herself and what she could do. Her decision was final, Sora reluctantly realized. Not wanting to stop her from what she wanted to do, he simply sighed before giving her a smile.

"Alright. I won't stop you. I just really want you to tell me how it goes, or if you ever need help. I… I don't want to see you like that anymore."

Kairi felt a stirring inside her when Sora's gaze turned sad. She didn't know that she had that type of effect on him. Or maybe it was because seeing something like that just overwhelmed him. To her, it was a normal occurrence—to just freak out, forget about the world, and wallow in her self-destruction. But to Sora, it must've meant something much more.

"I'm sorry," she regretfully voices out, looking away and towards the tree next to them. "I'm so sorry."

"I've told you so many times that—"

"But thank… you." It felt so awkward for Kairi to apply Roxas's advice right after he gave it; it just sounded so _strange_ and embarrassing. Kairi almost wanted to take back what she said.

Almost.

The embarrassment she thought was going to pool instantly disappeared the moment she saw Sora's expression light up. He laughed wholeheartedly, as if that was something he always wanted to hear from her, and grinned.

"Your welcome. Seriously, anytime."

His smile was so contagious that she couldn't keep her own from emerging.

Sora checked the time on his phone before letting out a hum. "Lunch time is very cut short. Should we head back? I wouldn't want you to go starving for the next three hours." He turned around to go, but her soft voice rooted him in place.

"Wait."

"Hm?" He turned back around, only to be concerned once more when he saw her eyes casted on the ground again. "Is something the matter?"

"I…" Kairi began to repeatedly rub her thumbs over each other, which made Sora really curious as to why she suddenly became so meek. "I want… uh."

"Is something else bothering you? Here, we can just spend the rest of lunch talking it out. Is that fi—"

"No, that's not it." Kairi looked up from the ground. When he saw her expression, he couldn't stop himself from suddenly feeling hot. There was a huge blush on her face, and he felt so bad for imagining ridiculous things in his head. _Don't misunderstand that look, Sora. You'll dig yourself a grave._

"W-want to tell me?"

Kairi waved her arms by her side in a small arc. To Sora, it looked like she wanted to initiate some sort of flying or something. Confused, he imitated her by holding his own arms out by his side.

"Like this? What is this? Are you—oh."

Sora watched as Kairi stepped forward and very, very slowly snaked her arms around his middle. Her breath could be heard as she exhaled deeply into his shirt and clasped her arms together around him. Her hold was loose at first, but when she got somewhat comfortable enough, she tightened it and reveled in the smell of his freshly washed shirt.

Sora's own breathing stopped as he took a breath and never let it out. She had never initiated a hug with him before, and now that she has, Sora wasn't quite sure he'll ever be sane. Not wanting to stand frozen like a stupid duck, he returned the action and took this time to fix her hair and feel her soft frame against his.

"Kairi, I—" in a surge of emotions, he was about to say something he possibly and most likely will regret, but when she pulled away a little bit, he caught himself just in time.

"Sorry, I just suddenly—"

He stopped her from saying anything else by gently pulling her back in. It wasn't because he didn't want her to see his embarrassing expression. It wasn't because he wanted to keep the silence either.

He just didn't want to let go.

And he felt wrong for feeling this way.

 _Damn._

* * *

Hi guys, I was temporarily alive to write another sadly-short chapter and I'm about to go back to the dead. Life's just been so busy, but I wanted to update this story for you guys, so here you go. I hope my readers didn't go away-leave a sign that you guys are still here! Thank you so much for the support and I hope you enjoyed this chapter.

(REJOICE GUYS, KH3 IN AROUND 5 DAYS, ALL MY FAMILY AND FRIENDS DEFINITELY WONT SEE ME ALIVE)


	19. Chapter 19

_All he did was accidentally bump into her, and she just explodes like that!_

 _I wish you were mute._

 _Nothing was wrong between us—any of us—before you suddenly busted your sorry self into everything._

 _If only she didn't appear in the picture, everything could've been fine. Everything would've remained normal and things wouldn't have changed like this._

 _She's just a freak of nature._

Kairi covered her ears as she cradled herself in her bed, trying her best to block out all the voices that came back to haunt her ever since Riku attacked her. With eyes shut tight, she attempted to mutter a mantra to ward them all off. _Kairi Lockhart, you've gone a long way. Don't sink back. Don't sink back and make all your efforts go towards nothing. Don't make all of Sora's and Roxas's efforts go to waste. You've gone a long way, so don't go back now. You can't. You won't._

She tried to think about the positive things. She thought about the new friends she made and the new memories she created. She re-imagined the happy conversations she had with Sora and Roxas and Xion and all the times they all hung out during lunch and played games at Roxas's house. She drew all the smiles she received ever since then in her head and tried to gain energy from them.

But then she asked herself. Could she remain strong for any longer? It was difficult—difficult to remain one piece with the few people that supported her when the whole world still stood against her. She could fight, but could she do it without ever falling back to the abyss?

"Kairi!" her father roared from downstairs. "Get down here right now!" Kairi simply covered herself in her blankets and clamped her ears tighter against the palms of her hands.

"Go away, go away, go away," she whispered harshly to herself as she heard the familiar thudding of her father's footsteps thundering the house.

Times like this made her feel like there was never going to be an escape. She was going to be trapped—forever.

~.~.~

Namine looked at the ground nervously as Roxas gave her the most questioning gaze ever. He had done it—he had finally trapped her by the corner of the school so that she wouldn't run away from him again. It had been three days since her little verbal brawl with Riku, and she had successfully escaped his grasp since then. _Not today, Namine, not today._

"C'mon, I'm not that scary," Roxas chuckled as he crossed his arms over his chest. "You're making me look like I'm coercing you to do something bad or something."

"Well, I would appreciate it if you weren't chasing me down like some hunting dog," Namine retorted, eyes shooting up to finally meet his blue orbs. "It just urges me to continue avoiding you."

"That ends today, silly," he held up a hand and bent his fingers back and forth, persuading her to spill it. "Let's go. Let it all out. C'mon, let's not be shy here."

Namine felt very weirded out; this was one of the first times Roxas had ever been so expressive towards her. Of course, he had his joking side here and then, but she never heard him sound so playful before. Even though friendly, there would always be some sort of cold surface beneath every single one of his actions, so seeing him so carefree naturally unsettled her. Was Sora rubbing off on him?

"What?" she questioned sharply. She didn't understand what he asked of her.

"You know what. Now's the time to just tell me everything that has been on your mind. I know you have a lot of things to say to me," Roxas answered. "We can take this whole lunch time to do it. Heck, I'll skip fifth period for you if you don't finish."

Namine felt a bit hot hearing Roxas's offer of skipping class just for her. Maybe it was because she was a nerd, but someone skipping class for her sounded way more than it should have. Catching herself quickly, she willed herself to feel nothing towards the blond. It would just hurt more.

"I really don't have much to say," she continued to argue, wanting him to lay off.

"Then why are you avoiding me like this?"

"Because—!" Namine shut her mouth instantly when she unintentionally started raising her voice. She wanted to wipe the slightly smug look on Roxas so bad—he was winning this battle.

"Okay, jokes aside," Roxas's familiar serious tone returned as his face straightened out to erase all of the playfulness on it. "I know… I haven't been a figure for you to depend on—" _that's not true_ "—but I want to change that. Starting today. Starting now. And I want to start by standing here and listening to whatever you have to say to me. Don't try to fight me on this one; I'm not as oblivious as you think I am."

"What do you mean, 'oblivious'?" Namine said, heart racing. He couldn't have meant her hidden feelings for him. She wasn't obvious at all about them. She watched herself—he couldn't have known. Unless he heard her slip it out to Sora before, but that was impossible since he was never near them to hear—and she made sure of it. And then her rational side began to think of Kairi; maybe he came to talk about her.

A small pang hit her in the chest once more at the thought of the redhead. Did he come to scold her about her treatment towards Kairi? Ever since she saw how Riku treated the poor girl, her resentment towards Kairi diminished immensely. However, only the feelings of guilt dug at her heart with the way she coldly treated the innocent girl. What did she do wrong, was the question she had questioned over and over to herself. She found the answer: nothing.

 _Instead of resenting Kairi, why not accept the things she did that you couldn't accomplish? Instead of acting selfish and pretending that everything has to revolve around you, why don't you just drop your jealousy for a second and just support all of them?_

Xion had unraveled her like a knitted-sweater and hit her where it stung the most. It was hard to swallow her words and let it absorb—to admit the fact that what she had done was ugly. However, after seeing Riku, she realized she couldn't continue this baseless jealousy. Sora had forgiven her, but did Roxas? Was it too late? Ashamed at how she had lashed out on him before, she couldn't dare to look him in the face.

"Xion and Axel have been there for me since middle school," Roxas suddenly started to say, confusing Namine a little bit at the abrupt topic change. "I lost my mom in seventh grade, but it felt like I lost my world during that time."

 _Huh?_

Namine wasn't expecting that one.

"Wait, Roxas—" Namine tried to stop him from saying anymore because he wasn't obligated to tell her anything about himself, especially a sensitive topic like the one he was about to reveal, but the small smile that he gave her stopped her protests.

"I guess you could say that that's when I started to grow up quicker than I had to. I stayed strong for her until the very end. I wanted to be a good kid, but at an expense, I lost what it felt like to be a kid. I know you've noticed since you've met me, and I'm so sorry about it, but I'm unintentionally… cold."

"Roxas…" she was lost at words. It felt weird. It felt weird for Roxas to open up to her—something she had always wanted from him. However, now that she was hearing it straight from his mouth, she didn't know how to react. She thought she would know, but she didn't.

"But Axel and Xion… really helped. Their innocence and cheerfulness and playfulness and—just everything—made it so much better. They stuck by my depressing ass side, and they're still by my side so stubbornly even when I almost lost them."

"Lost them?"

"I almost lost them just how like I'm almost losing you and Sora right now."

Namine's breath hitched in her throat with the way Roxas looked at her. _Oh no._

"W-what do you mean?"

"You're legit running away from me—what else can I mean?" he laughed, liking how all her responses were just questions. He didn't blame her though. "Despite having Xion and Axel by my side along with you and Sora as new baggage, I found myself growing colder. It wasn't like I wanted to be, but I just felt it happening. Maybe because I'm growing older and everything. I'm not well-equipped with communication, so it's honestly a struggle sometimes. Xion and Axel also felt that I was more distant. Even though I knew that myself, I thought I could be alright with it."

"You thought?" came another question.

"Yeah, until I met Kairi."

Namine thought her premonition was correct for a moment, that he was here to lecture her about Kairi and everything that had happened recently the instant he mentioned her name.

"I get that I—"

"She made me realize that I can't lose more people, especially in such a lame way of not opening up. So, Namine," her eyes followed his hand as it gently grabbed onto her wrist and let it fall through until he could clasp her hand. "Let's talk. Let's let it out. Today. Because I know you always have reasons behind everything you do, and it's okay to tell me. M'kay?"

Namine felt embarrassed to just release her emotions to this guy who just a few weeks prior always held up his stone wall against her. It felt weird to suddenly gain access to something she had always wanted. Because of that, it only took three seconds of looking into Roxas's earnest eyes before she felt her tears well up.

"Sure."

~.~.~

 _I don't hate you._

"So, would you go for the hot, cheerleading captain or the spunky, cute nerd? Both are awesome, but which one, which one?"

Riku didn't even notice how the question was addressed towards him until one of his mates tapped him on the shoulder.

"Oh, yeah, what?" Riku dumbly responded, warping himself back to reality. He sat at the edge of the table in the hamburger joint they ate at, not really tuning in on what was going on in the table. His friends looked at him peculiarly.

"It's not like you to space up. What up, my man?"

"It's nothing," Riku responded shortly, taking a sip of his soda.

"So, so?"

"What?"

"Cheerleader or nerd?"

"Nerd." Riku didn't realize how he said that so naturally. No, he didn't even notice how that wasn't what he wanted to say. When his friends gave him a borderline creeped-out look, he quickly laughed and smirked. "What, did you actually fall for it? Of course, the hot cheerleader."

"Eh, Luna isn't really the hottest cheerleading captain out there, is she? She's way too…"

"Quiet? What, you want her to be wild? C'mon, she's a looker too. Too bad she's with Noctis, or else I'd tap that."

It didn't take very long for Riku to continue zoning his friends out on their "girl" talk. All he could think about were those startling blue eyes piercing his own. He mentally sighed.

 _Damn it._

The following week, he passed by Sora down the halls without a single second of eye contact.

 _Guess it's going to be like this from now on._ _Sorry, Sora…_

 _Sorry… K—_

"Kairi."

Kairi shut her locker and turned around to see who greeted her: Roxas. Behind him was Xion, who gave her a very friendly smile. She managed a small smile in return as Roxas blinked at the light dark circles underneath her eyes and chuckled. "You're studying early."

"Huh?" Kairi let out dumbly.

Roxas air-traced his own eyes and pointed at her. "You look like you're sleep-deprived. Finals studying?"

"Oh. Oh yeah," Kairi said nervously. He was right; she _was_ sleep-deprived. However, it wasn't because of studying. "Haven't slept a lot lately."

"That's no good," Xion interjected as she wagged a finger. "You've got a lot of time before finals. We have a good two weeks left."

"You're a bad influence," Roxas scolded as he knocked Xion's head with a back of his finger. "Some people are actually studious, unlike you." She mocking bit at his finger with a snarl, not appreciating his unnecessary comment. Kairi laughed at the two's friendly gestures, glad that they seemed closer than before. Ever since their talk after her surprise visit to his mother's grave, she had wondered about Roxas's progress every so often. Seeing how he was more expressive towards his friends, Kairi was glad he was taking his own step forward.

Kairi started to remember how cathartic it was to have friends and how uplifted she felt when she was near them until she saw a familiar figure approach Roxas and Xion from behind.

"Hey, guys."

Roxas turned over and smiled. "Hey, Namine."

"Namine! Heyo," Xion replied back enthusiastically.

Kairi didn't say anything as Namine joined the circle of friends. She didn't miss how Namine refused to give her even a glance of acknowledgement as she had her body turned completely towards Xion and Roxas. At that moment, Kairi suddenly felt like she didn't belong once more as she subconsciously took a step back away from the circle. Her hands clasped her books tightly in her arms; there was no difference whether she was part of it or not.

"How you guys doing?" Namine asked. That was Kairi's signal to leave. Before her feet circled completely to go the other way, she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Hey, hold on, Kairi," Xion said. Kairi gave her a questioning glance. Xion rummaged through her pocket and took out some sort of blue, wrapped charm. Its top was tied with a red ribbon to keep it from opening. Kairi confusingly held her hand out for Xion to put the charm in her hand.

"What's this?" she couldn't help but ask.

"Open it when you feel like the time is right," Xion said. Kairi gave her an even more confused look, but Xion simply smiled as a response. "Yeah? Think of it as some sort of good luck charm. Finals season needs some sort of boost, am I right?"

Kairi didn't respond as she simply nodded and clasped the blue charm in her hand and stuffed it inside her pocket. She felt bad for just taking it without saying a thank you, but Namine's stare made her throat go all dry.

"Bye."

And she left.

Roxas watched her shrinking form before it disappeared off into a corner before he heaved a huge sigh. Roxas hoped that whatever happened between her and Riku wouldn't affect her too much, considering how she had gotten so much better than her time from before when he first met her. However, he knew the ups and downs—it wasn't easy to remain standing when there were so many things pushing down. He himself almost had a brief blast to the past until he felt Xion lay a hand on his shoulder in a comforting manner. She gave him a reassuring look.

"I think she'll be fine."

"Of course," Roxas said. He then offered a small smile towards Namine. "I'm sure she'll be fine too."

As Kairi circled around the corner of the hallways, she didn't expect to see Sora on the way; he would always be around Roxas and Namine during this time before school started. Feeling that it was okay to at least approach him, Kairi felt a bit more relieved at having somewhere to go to as she took a step forward. However, when she saw more from the corner, she halted in her tracks.

"Yuna, you're seriously hurting my feelings here. I'm taller than Tidus!"

"He would still be a cooler captain. You're too…"

"Not mature," a tanned, blonde girl finished for Yuna. "Well, you're not immature either—I think you're just goofy."

"Rikku!"

"Call him a flat-out loser, why don't you?" a short, silver-haired girl added as she looked at her nails. "At least roast him the right way."

"For some reason, I feel less hurt by Paine's words," Sora chuckled as he stuffed a hand into his pocket and leaned his back onto the lockers. "Yuna, I can understand—you gotta stand up for your boyfriend no matter what, right? Rikku, shake my head. C'mon, I'm not that bad."

Kairi oddly felt a prick at her chest when Rikku casually laid a finger on his chest.

"Be as ripped as Riku and then you can stack some ego onto yourself, alright, cutie-boy?" the blonde flashed him a wide smile.

"Rikku and her flirtations never stop, do they?" Paine muttered to Yuna. Yuna simply giggled as Sora gently pulled Rikku's hand down.

"Hey, keep the insults at bay, alright?" he chuckled. His eyes casually looked around for a quick second just to look around. Kairi didn't expect him to suddenly spot her by the corner. Before she could even see his reaction, Kairi quickly turned around and went the other way. Inside, she felt bad for just ignoring him like that, just how she did in the past. However, she felt odd this morning—when did she suddenly feel like she didn't belong anywhere?

 _Get yourself together by tomorrow, Kairi Lockhart_ , she thought to herself as she briskly walked towards her class. _Don't treat your friends like that. Get yourself together._ She hoped that she would somewhat return back to normal by tomorrow.

"Something the matter, Sora?" Yuna asked, concerned as she saw his slightly surprised expression. He shook his head and flashed a smile.

"Nothing's the matter. Just a bit tired."

 _Why did she run away again?_ was the only question hanging around in his mind until the bell rang for class. _Did something else happen?_

After school, Kairi rushed back home. Days suddenly felt long again. The days where she would drag herself to and fro from morning to night made their revival. She didn't ask to be pulled back; life just set her to it. She hoped that all of it was just a phase. They had been phases before, but this one was the hardest one yet. She couldn't help but feel apologetic towards Sora…

"Welcome back home," her father's gruff voice sounded from the living room. Kairi didn't respond back as she took off her shoes and swiftly made her way towards the stairs. She didn't run, but she didn't want to stay long either; she had enough problems already. However, her wishes were shut down when she felt her father grab her by the wrist and pull her back.

"You're not even going to respond back to me? You insolent kid," he growled, clutching her wrist in a vice grip. She winced, already knowing that a light bruise was already going to form.

"Hello, Dad," she quietly said to appease him. For today, that was enough. He threw her wrist back down and trudged back into the living through the kitchen, but not without a few curses littering his grumbles underneath his breath. Kairi didn't take the time to see him settle as she skittered up to her room and shut the door to her room with a mild slam. Throwing her backpack rather harshly on the ground, she pulled her chair out and sat down, arms splayed on her desk and head down.

She was tired, but she didn't know how to regain her energy back either. She tilted her head up so that her chin could rest on her arms. The sunlight streaming through her window didn't do much to lift her spirits.

Her eyes lazily drifted through the items on her desk until they landed on something she didn't even think about since it was given to her way back then: Roxas's picture frame. She slowly lifted herself up and reached a hand out to pick up its delicate, crystal frame. She felt bad—it looked like such a nice and expensive frame too, yet she didn't even dare use it.

 _Decorate your house a bit, okay? It won't hurt._

What would she even put in this frame anyway? Pictures? Pictures of herself? Friends? There were none.

Family?

With her other hand, she pulled out the drawer by her desk. Before she could rummage through it, she instantly closed it shut once more.

"There's no point," she muttered to herself as she settled the picture frame back in its lonely corner in the desk. There wouldn't be anywhere to put it up anyway, and she doubted it would last outside in the living room. "Sorry, Roxas."

She finally decided to just nap her day once more. It made the time pass by faster—made the abyss stay farther away.

The next day Kairi watched Sora from a corner of the intersection as he laughed wholeheartedly with his group of friends outside of Roxas and Namine. People from his blitzball team, Kairi assumed. _He's always with someone different._ She sighed and removed herself from her creepy spying so that she could find some way to circle around him to go to class. She wasn't stalking him or anything; she had bumped into him along the way like always, but she did not dare approach him in that large circle of friends. However, she didn't even take two steps away before she leaned the side of her body against the lockers and gently knocked her head on it.

 _What's up with me?_ she mentally sighed as she clutched the books in her arms. There shouldn't be any problem passing by him and giving him a smile as a greeting, or a wave good morning. They were past this stage of shyness—they were friends. And friends were allowed to at least say a simple "hi."

So why was she having such a hard time looking him in the eye lately? It didn't seem like anything changed between them—or, at least, nothing had changed between them ever since they got close. Sora was still the approachable friend that reached out to her ever since the beginning while she was still the girl breaking out of her shell. Things were getting better, but for some reason, the air between them was _different_ —different enough for her to suddenly feel _strange_. To feel not included.

 _Or maybe I'm just being delusional._

She then remembered how stupid she was for suddenly giving him an unwanted hug that one time. There wasn't a big reason behind it—he gave Namine a hug and it looked so comforting. So safe. Everything felt like an out-of-the-body experience for her as she sat on the ground. With hands vibrating and eyes glazed over with an empty stare, she didn't feel much when she locked eyes with Riku. It was a brief moment, but for the first time, she felt nothing towards him. Even talking to Roxas couldn't shake her out of her lifeless body; he made it better, but not completely.

It was different with Sora. The twinkle in his eyes was enough to tell her that everything was okay, that she didn't need to be scared to stand up and face the world despite the fear that shook her. His laugh that eased the tension and made her forget what had just happened—it was the feeling of normalcy she had always asked for from a person.

She wanted to be embraced by it, this feeling of belongingness. By the person who made her feel like it was okay to be who she was and that it was okay to have fears and insecurities just like everyone else. He was the first person who made everything beautiful again, and she wanted to hold on tight. With a courage she didn't know she even had in her, she fell into his warm embrace. She didn't even think about whether or not he would've reciprocated—it just felt right.

But why was she hesitating now? Did something suddenly change? She shouldn't be feeling afraid—what's going on? This phase was passing by way too long.

"Don't avoid him. You'll just be taking a step back if you do. Don't run away. That's right." Kairi gave herself a firm nod of confidence, psyching herself up. With everything that they've been to, it wasn't time to suddenly go backwards. "Give him a hi."

"Give who a hi?"

Kairi let out a small squeal as his familiar voice decided to appear right there and then. She quickly turned her feet around and, in her clumsy manner, almost bumped into him too if not for his quick step back.

"Sora!" Kairi tried not to cringe at how surprised she sounded. The odd look Sora gave her didn't do much to make her feel better.

"I didn't think I was being sneaky," he commented as he fixed his hair with a hand out of habit. Some mornings did not do justice to his hair, even though it couldn't get any messier. "Sorry if I suddenly freaked you out, haha."

"No, you didn't scare me. I—well—no, I was just…" Kairi sucked her lips in and tried not to close her eyes and wish words could spill out in a more elegant manner. Sora stuffed his hands in his pockets and waited for her to form her thoughts. To him, it was just her shyness emerging again, but to her, it was a new dilemma. _Why am I stuttering so much?_

"Did you eat sugar this morning?" Sora continued to chuckle at her as he flashed his infamous smile. "You're a bit jumpier than usual. Then again, everyone's all jittery—it's finals season." For emphasis, he chugged an imaginary can of double shot coffee, successfully earning a small laugh from Kairi. "Caffeinated teenagers are the worse. Catch me at the top of the scoreboard with coffee intake next week."

"That's not good."

"Tell me about it.

"Sora!"

Kairi widened her eyes and took a step forward when someone suddenly snaked their hands between Sora's sides and grappled onto him from behind. Sora nearly toppled over as he grounded himself to the floor.

"Alright, Selphie, what are you coming to cry about this time?" He didn't even need to turn around to know who it was.

"Sora," she whined, stretching out the last syllable of his name as she shook him like crazy. Kairi watched as two girls started to come over a second after the Selphie girl suddenly attacked Sora. She recognized Namine as being one of them and the other as Olette, a fellow classmate. Kairi immediately shrunk back, and the abyss started to grab at her again. _Not again._ The lack of belongness. _Not this feeling again._

"My fashion club is having a run-way this weekend! And—"

"I'm not modeling," Sora deadpanned, prying the girl's arms off of him and turning around to face her completely. "My answer is no and it will always be no."

"But Namine and Olette—"

"They're girls—I'm a dude! Bro, I'm going to be made fun of from daylight to sunrise—okay that didn't make sense, but humor me here—so no."

"Aw, cmon!"

Kairi felt left out the moment Sora's friends came into play. She didn't want to, but every time she was in a group—especially Sora's—she just found her body frozen like a metal pole in the middle of the Artic. Her throat would suddenly get all lumpy too, rendering her speechless. Seeing Namine made her feel even uncomfortable. Once more, Namine failed to even spare her even a glance of acknowledgement. Kairi didn't get it.

Deciding that she could just slip off unnoticed, her heels spun to go off to the opposite direction until Selphie's eyes locked onto hers. Noticing her sudden attention on Kairi, Sora ceased his complaints. Realizing how the two have never officially met before, Sora offered a small smile and stood in between them.

"I'm pretty sure you already know who she is, but Selphie, this is—"

"The freak! Wow, you sure have changed—I didn't even recognize you!"

Kairi's blood ran ice cold as she stared at the seemingly friendly smile Selphie gave her. Her mouth ran dry as her lips parted by the slightest. Sora blinked as he too had a hard time processing what Selphie just said. From the look on her face, she had no remorse over the daggering words she just said.

Selphie continued to give her a whole look over as her grin grew wider on her face. "Your hair, your clothes—true transformation! This would image would work so well for the fashion club. Just imagine! 'From freakshow to stardom!' Ooo, forget about you, Sora, I want her! Kailey, do you by any chance have any photos of you wearing your drabby clothes from before? Yes, yes, a before-and-after picture would be so—"

Sora instantly adorned a frown. "Selphie—"

 _Clutter!_

Kairi didn't even feel the books slip out of her grasp until it hit her feet. The funny thing was that it didn't hurt when the corner of her textbook landed sharply on her toes.

"Kairi," Sora said softly. He immediately stooped down to help her with her books as her hands scrambled all over the floor to reclaim them.

"Sorry," Kairi muttered, but it wasn't directed towards Sora. And he knew that. When their hands touched accidentally when reaching for the same book, Kairi immediately retracted her hand away towards her chest when it didn't even burn. His touch hadn't burned her for a while—she didn't know why her body pulled away so suddenly.

Sora immediately felt guilty for the accidental touch. "Sor—"

"Don't touch me," she naturally blurted out, not at all intending to let that slip out. She gasped slightly when she realized what she just said—old, instinctive habits died hard. A flash of surprise mixed with a tinge of hurt evidently showed on his face as he stared speechless at her. Those words had not been directed towards him for a really, really long time. It honestly shocked him more than he expected.

"I'm sorry," Sora apologized. When he thought he couldn't look uncooler, his voice cracked at the end. To Kairi, it only showed how wounded he was from those ancient words. She quickly tried to say something.

"No, I didn't—"

"I really don't get you."

Kairi looked up to see the smile wiped clean off of Selphie's face. Anxiety swarmed at the pit of her stomach—a familiar process she was too accustomed to. It wasn't the first time, the look Selphie had—it wasn't the first time someone looked at her with such pure disgust and scorn. The worst thing about all this was that Kairi was used to it—all of it. Some things really don't change.

"Selphie."

Namine shivered at the tone of Sora's voice. It wasn't a simple call of a name nor was it a simple command to stop—it was a warning. Having faced it before all too recently, Namine gently grasped the crook of Selphie's elbow, trying to silently signal for her to stop, but the brunette had no idea of the hole she was digging.

The brunette completely tuned out Sora and continued to stare down at the redhead, whose expression suddenly went blank. "Sora was just trying to help you, and in return, you dare treat him like a germ?"

"That wasn't my intention," Kairi responded automatically. Her eyes slowly scanned over the four of them in almost a trance-like manner. Sora, with his ever-growing concern. Selphie, with her disdain. Olette, with her scared expression.

Namine. Kairi didn't get it. She really didn't get it.

Riku. She didn't get it. No, she didn't.

First Namine, then Riku, now this.

Kairi didn't get it.

"What, are you going to scream again? Scream again like a freak?"

"Selphie."

"I take back what I said—you haven't changed one bit, you freak. You make innocent people look like they've attacked you or something when they've done absolutely nothing wrong."

"Selphie." Sora's voice grew louder.

"Who do you think you are, you _freak_?"

Freak, freak, freak. Kairi didn't get it.

The abyss finally grabbed a hold of her once more, just like the old days.

"Who do you think you are to—"

"Who do you think you are for you to talk to her like that?" Sora immediately stood up and faced the brunette. At this point in time, everyone knew that Sora was beyond pissed. Even Selphie couldn't believe it as her mouth instantly shut tight at the sound of his slightly raised voice. Namine simply let her eyes drift closed for a bit before opening them again to witness the scene.

"Sora…" Selphie trailed astonishingly. Sora only shook his head, not having any excuses.

"Who do you think you are to call her a frea—"

"What did I do to you?"

It was Sora's turn to shut his mouth when Kairi's sharp voice interrupted him.

Time froze for everyone as Kairi slowly collected all her books into her arms and stood up. Her eyes focused intensely on the ground, unable to look at the scrutinizing stares that ran bullets through her. The details of everyone's shoes etched her vision before they started to get blurry. This was it. "What did I do to you?" All of this barely came out as a whisper as her fingers started to scratch the covers of her textbooks. Sora noticed her fidgety movements; they were never a good sign.

"W-what?" Selphie dared to answer back. That was her mistake.

"What did I do wrong?" Kairi suddenly screamed, her high-pitched voice attracting the attention of everyone in the halls. Sora widened his eyes at her sudden outburst. This was extremely unlike her. His concern for her skyrocketed to another level as he tried to communicate with her through his eyes. That was the only thing he could do.

"What did I do to you to be called a freak? Freak, freak, freak, freak!" Her eyes shot up and targeted Namine, startling the blonde immensely from her silent position. The look Kairi gave her was borderline-deranged as the focus of her eyes started to blur. "Did I kill someone here? Am I some sort of criminal?"

"Hey, Kairi, you're okay," Sora tried to soothed. Her rapid breathing told him that she was completely losing her composure. His hands were desperate to reach out to her and give her shoulder a gentle rub, but he knew better. Kairi's eyes were solely on Namine now, who only stared back in shock at being blasted at.

"Tell me what I did wrong!"

"You did nothing wrong," Namine finally said, her voice shaky from directly confronting the redhead for the first time ever. No, it wasn't just the first time confronting the girl—it was her first time even holding a conversation with her. This wasn't the way she wanted it to be either.

Kairi erupted into sobs as the tears streamed freely down her face. Sora felt broken to see her like that. Just when he was determined to not see her like this again, here he was, powerless once more as he saw her lose control again.

Her head whipped from side to side as she saw the looks she was receiving. Having a panic attack in public was one of the worst things ever. To have people stare at her as if she was some sort of exotic animal. _Get me out, get me out, get me out._ She tried focusing on everyone's feet, but it wasn't working. _Get me out._

"I'm sorry, Kairi."

Sora didn't know if it was a good decision or if it was even the correct decision, but to get them out of everyone's sight, he took her hand and pulled her forward. It was a good sign when she didn't pull away. But before he could go anywhere, he gave Selphie one of the hardest looks he had ever given anyone here in this high school.

"You went too far," he hissed.

"Sora—"

He didn't stick around to listen to her excuses as he took Kairi away.

"He's right."

Selphie turned around to face Namine, who had the same grim look on her face. "Not you too, Nams."

"There's a limit of what you can say. What you did wasn't right."

"What I said wasn't that bad. I mean, people know that she's—"

"Are you saying that it's alright to call someone a freak? Selphie, seriously." Namine only shook her head in disappointment as she shouldered her backpack. "I'll see you around. You might want to think about what you just said and make up a pretty good apology the next time you see her." Namine took her turn to leave the brunette, but not without adding one last comment. "And her name is Kairi. Not Kailey."

By the corner, Riku also left, not wanting to stay around longer than necessary as well.

Sora took her outside where it was empty. The bell had rung for the start of class, but missing class was the least of his problems as he sat her down on a bench behind the school. The winter trees shielded them from the warm sunrays—it almost gave off a feeling of spring despite the coldness of the winter. Kairi continued to openly sob as she collected herself.

"You can cry all you want out here. No one's going to hear you," he assured with an ironic smile. Kairi showed no hints of hearing him, but her whimpers became more apparent as she settled down her books and wiped her tears.

"I'm tired," she sobbed. Her speaking signaled to him that she had regained her composure; the only thing left was sadness. Sora sat down next to her and leaned forward a little bit as he peered at her downcast face.

"I know," was all he said.

"I'm sorry, Sora."

"Don't be. There's nothing to be sorry about."

"I feel so lame," she spilled. "I thought I was getting better, but here I am. I feel like I've gone nowhere!" She screamed the last part. It just made Sora realize how much she bottled up every day until it reached this point. "I feel so lame in front of you, in front of Roxas, in front of everyone. After everything that everyone has done for me, why am I still here? At the same place!"

"Hey, you know that's not true."

"Everything has been fake! I'm still the same, old, _freaky_ redhead who can't get over her _stupid_ phobia over guys. I—"

"Hm, stupid phobia? Freaky?" Sora muttered softly. Kairi hiccupped as he gently tucked a few loose strands behind her ear in a warm manner. He pulled his hand back and rested his elbows back onto his knees and clasped his hands together. "I wouldn't call it stupid. And you know that's not true. You've gone a long way. A long, long way…"

"If I've truly gone a long way, then why am I still like this?" she argued. Sora grew bold with his actions as he lifted a finger up once more to wipe a stray tear off her face.

"Like what? Like this? What's wrong with who you are now? I think it's fine."

"Are you kidding me?"

Sora kind of liked it, actually, her crying. It made her real personality show up, but of course, he would rather see her smiling than anything else.

"You speak of yourself as if there's only one way to proceed—up. You make it seem like it's wrong, that the you right now is wrong and needs to be corrected. But what can I say to make you believe that that's not true?" Sora sighed as he straightened himself up and gave himself a shoulder rub. "You make it seem like it's wrong to feel vulnerable, to feel like you're sinking back into the dark. I just want to let you know that it's normal to feel like you're going up and down, regardless of what kind of situation you are in."

"Sora…"

Sora turned towards her and tentatively reached out to cup her heart-shaped face with his warm hands. He slowly directed her to look him in the eye, thumbs wiping away the tears that wet her face. Her teary eyes only looked at him in wonder and sadness, but she showed no signs of feeling any disgust towards his touch.

"No one expects you to stay strong like a rock, silly. It's okay to chip away sometimes—or even break—but as long as you get back up, that is what matters, right? F equals MA, where F is net force, am I right?"

Sora's nerdy joke successfully made her crack a smile.

"Is it really alright?"

"Of course, it is. Anyone who doesn't understand is a dick."

Sora's smile made her feel so secure—the same security he had always gifted her. She sniffed as she reached up and placed a hand on his hand while his other one fell back to his lap. He expected her to gently pull his hand away, but he was pleasantly surprised when she simply held her hand there.

"What do you mean, you haven't changed one bit? Don't you see this right now?" he laughed as he pointed out their physical contact. "You're gone a long way. And I'm glad you felt comfortable enough to tell me about your distress."

"It's because… of everyone. Because of you, Sora. So… thank you. Again. Always."

Sora could tell that she was starting to feel the tiring after-effects of her episode with her short responses. Not wanting to keep her out in the cold for too long, he tried to pull his hand away and suggest her to rest up in the nurse's office, but her hand kept it from going anywhere.

"Kairi?"

"Sora, I…" Kairi looked away from his eyes and focused her interest onto a random piece of rock on the ground. "I… never mind. I don't know." This weird feeling inside her; what was it? She was about to ask Sora about it, but for some reason, her gut instinct told her it was something she shouldn't tell Sora. Earlier, she had mistaken the feeling as the lack of belongingness, but with Sora, it was different. It was something else. But what was it?

Luckily for her, Sora wasn't that dense. However, he didn't say anything. He doubted he would _ever_ say anything. A little part of him felt a singe at his heart. _I can't. I shouldn't. I don't think it's right._

He didn't believe it was right to base anything on her fluctuating emotions. He was just someone she depended on, and he was glad for that, but it wasn't a basis for anything. She needed to meet more people.

But his body didn't listen to his mind as he cupped her face again, pulled her towards him, and laid a kiss on her forehead.

* * *

Oof, update, update! It's been a while once more, but not as long as the previous chapter hehe. Been busy. Hope the quality hasn't decreased, but after writing a research paper for the past 3 weeks, I'm not sure if the fluff of writing fanfic is still prevalent as previous chapters! I tried!

Thank you y'all for continuing to read this and follow this. It is what keeps this fic alive hehe.

And I also played KH3. No comment :)

But anyway, this i cranked out a bulkier than usual chapter just for you guys. Hope it was worth the wait! Peace.


	20. Chapter 20

"Ey, you okay, Sora?" Roxas curiously looked at the spiky-haired boy, book loosely propped in his hand as it stood forgotten for a moment. Sora, for a whole minute, had his forehead plastered onto the table. An unearthly sound escaped his lips as it bounced off the table and came out as muffled to Roxas.

"Never been better," came the dead response.

Roxas tapped the back of his book onto Sora's head, successfully getting him to sit up. The boy rubbed his face with both hands, as if sickened with immense fatigue.

"You look like you just made the worse decision of your life." Roxas said this unknowingly, so he didn't expect Sora to mess up his hair in frustration.

"Funny, 'cause I _did_ ," Sora groaned, proceeding to smooth out the hair he just messed up. "Just shoot me, Roxas, shoot me."

Roxas twirled a finger towards his head for Sora to fix a few strands sticking out before giving an amused smile. "Never seen you this distressed before. Rather, I've never seen you _express_ it."

"Observe all you want. Be right back, I'm going to do some more self-reflecting," and Sora dropped his head back onto the table. Not wanting to probe the clearly-moody boy, Roxas returned to his book and wondered what disturbed the him? Riku? Perhaps. Namine? No, they seemed to be fine. Selphie? Possibly; he had heard from Olette in class about what happened at the halls. He didn't need to hear it from Olette specifically. It was literally the talk of the week—Kairi and her outburst. At first hearing, concern plagued the blond, but after Namine informed him of how Sora dealt with it, he didn't worry as much.

Kairi as a source of Sora's restlessness? Probably.

But he didn't question it. Instead, he just smiled now knowingly before returning back to his book.

~.~.~

"Oh wow, what do we have here? A new member." Axel pushed his air-glasses up his nose and leaned forward in the table. "I just knew our sub-unit was irresistible from the eyes of the many."

"I can hardly call her new," Sora said with a roll of his eyes. "She was expected to come sooner or later. Right?" He annoyingly jabbed Namine's side with his elbow, earning a silent snarl from her.

"With this tiny table, I'm not too sure," Namine retorted, eyeing the small circumference of the cafeteria table they sat at. She doubted this table could fit anymore than the five people sitting on it right now. Plus, there were also people missing, so they were bound to find another table if they wanted to all fit.

"This is like the second week we've been absent from the Org's table," Xion mused as she sips on chocolate milk. "Larxene and Marluxia has been giving me ass about it. Of course, they aren't too bothered by it, but they're bothered by it."

"Whatever, it's not like we do anything important there anyway," Roxas snorted. "Zexion's been lowkey giving me his silent looks too, but it doesn't bother me too much, haha."

"It's more fun here anyway," Axel said wholeheartedly, rubbing a finger underneath his nose. "Since our boy Sora here is such a fucking guy. Roxas, why didn't you introduce us sooner?"

"I'm not sure if I can say the same… Wait, I'm just kidding. Yield, yield!" Sora laughed as Axel feinted a punch at him from across the table. "It was bound to happen anyway. Roxas kept getting split between our group and your group. Now he has less trouble deciding who the better friends are. Well, the answer is obvious, but."

"Yeah, it is obvious," Xion said as she made an L shape near her forehead. "Very obvious."

Sora narrowed his eyes at her while the rest laughed.

"We've lost our point here, guys," Roxas chuckled as he turns towards Namine. She subconsciously gulped when she locked eyes with him. "It's good to have you back, Nams."

"Mhm," Xion discreetly gave Namine a wink.

Namine scratched her cheek sheepishly as she gave a small smile.

"Yeah."

Sora slunk back into his seat from all the excitement and continued to eat his lunch. All the fun and games couldn't take his mind off the obviously missing people on the table. It could've been only one person, but he added another on the list with his recklessness.

 _Choose a better time to do so, Sora,_ he chided himself mentally. _Geez._

Kairi took shelter in the library, a place she always sought refuge in just months prior every day. She had a finger at the tip of the page, ready to flip to the next, but it had been in that position for five minutes. There wasn't going to be any page flipping today.

She heaved a huge sigh as she closed her book and laid it flat on the table. She leaned the side of her face against a propped hand and looked out the window where the dead branches gently knocked one the glass. The library was way too quiet. When did she ever complain about that?

"They're rubbing off on me," Kairi muttered to herself as she thought about the rowdy crowd that adopted her. She wanted to be with them today instead of reading a book about spacetime. However, something just always had to be in the way, whether big or small. This time, the issue was small, but Kairi still couldn't suck it up.

 _It must've been… a friendly gesture._

Kairi tried to reason her way out of it when she recalled what happened. _Yes, friendly. Sora's friendly._

His touch burned for the first time in forever. However, it wasn't a bad sense; it was oddly electrifying. She couldn't decide whether or not she liked it—things that didn't feel natural rubbed Kairi off in a negative way. Sora's touch was always protective, warm, and gentle. That was the reason why Kairi grew to not fear him, but with the sudden move he pulled on her just two days ago, her comfort zone with him went down slightly.

 _Friendly_ , Kairi repeated as a mantra in her mind as she rubbed her forehead with the tips of her fingers. _Friendly touch._

 _Friends._

"Who am I kidding?" she continued to talk to herself as she let out a small groan and clutched at her hair. Kairi might be unexperienced, but she wasn't dumb enough to pass a kiss off as just a friendly gesture. If she could've, she would've questioned Sora on the spot, right then and there. However, she ran away before she could even utter a word. The last thing she heard from his lips was a regretful apology before she turned the corner and disappeared. Maybe she shouldn't have ran away like that. It wasn't as if she was scared. She was just… _surprised._

 _Ugh, what is this?_ Kairi thumped her chest with a fist as she tried to get the weird feeling out. _Do I like him or something?_

"No, Kairi, no, you shouldn't confuse this feeling with… _feelings_."

Kairi stopped talking to herself when a person passed by coincidentally and gave her a weird look.

She always looked up to Sora. He was like her guardian angel, her godfather, her older brother. There was no way that she could suddenly just change that protective image into a loving one.

Or maybe…

Kairi shook her head and casted these thoughts away. She would think about this kind of stuff later—she had something important to do first. Then, these things can be sorted out later.

Yes, she held this problem out for too long. She couldn't sit still any longer—not when everything was scattered like this.

 _Wait a little bit longer, Sora_.

And with that, she set off to do what she had been wanting to do for a long time.

~.~.~

Roxas was in the middle of going to practice when he heard someone call out his name from the hallway. Turning around, he didn't expect to see a rather frantic Kairi jog towards him to catch up.

"Hey, Kairi," he let her catch her breath before smiling a little bit. "Looks like you're getting your exercise."

"I'd rather not in the hallway," she breathed as she re-shouldered her backpack. Her retort came as surprising to Roxas when it shouldn't have. He just wasn't used to her saying anything back.

"Anyway, what's up?"

"Do you have to go to practice?"

"I do, but it's not every day I get called by you from across the hallway," he smirked as he eyed the loose strand of her sticking out from the side. "I got time to spare. The season's over anyway, so it's not that important. Finals is next week too."

"Alright, this won't take too long. I need help, if you can lend it to me. Maybe you would know," Kairi explained vaguely.

Roxas raised an eyebrow. "Sure, but what do you need?"

Kairi briefly explained what she wanted to do, earning a frown that quickly creased Roxas's forehead. When she finished, only a concerned expression plagued his face.

"I understand where you're coming from, but Kairi," he let a sigh in between, "I think you've done all you could. I personally think you should wait it out?"

"I don't think I've done all I could, Roxas," Kairi argued, rubbing a hand against the side of her arm. "Plus, I— _we_ —have been waiting for too long. Don't you think so? I don't think I can stand it being like this anymore knowing that I'm the reason."

"You're not particularly the reason, and you know that," Roxas countered. "And the last time you tried to do something, it ended up pretty badly. I'm just worried for you, you know."

"I think I'm okay. For real. And even if I'm not entirely the problem, it's still a problem for me. And… I think it's time to solve it. Once and for all."

Roxas peered into the eyes of Kairi, searching for any signs of hesitance behind them. He looked for any fear in them, to find any reason to stop her. Under normal circumstances, he wouldn't mind whatever she wanted to do, but after seeing her break down so many times, he wasn't comfortable enough to let her go knowing that it could possibly happen again.

However, instead of fear, he saw determination despite the nervousness that encompassed her entire character. His mind went through a flashback just for a moment as he recalled her fragile figure that stalked down these very halls just not long ago.

Kairi. _She has changed._

No longer was she the weak girl who feared the world.

Roxas burst out chuckling, irking Kairi immensely.

"For some reason, I don't feel like I can ever beat you," he laughed wholeheartedly as he felt the strap of his duffel bag. "You're so cool."

"Me? Cool?" Kairi stuttered, tinting red a little bit. "No way."

"Prove to me," Roxas said. His small smile returned as he held out a hand towards her. Her eyes gazed at it steadily as Roxas's blue orbs watched her carefully. "Prove to me that you're going to be fine."

"Roxas…"

Roxas's small smile turned into a full-wide grin. "Prove to me that you're going to be alright."

Kairi looked up to lock her violet-blue eyes with his bright blue ones. Then, she returned his smile with her own.

"Of course."

With one gentle motion, Kairi placed her hands atop of his and gripped it firmly.

* * *

Hi guys! I'm not dead, just very busy. This is a very short chapter, but because I'm not writing at the speed that I would like to be (writer's block no bueno) I'll just let you guys have a little update. Better than nothing, I hope xD Yah, nothing much to say except this story ISSSS starting to reach the end ish (end of the conflicts we will have hew hew). Thanks for all the support I've been receiving, from the favs to the reviews to the followers! Nice to know that so many people are enjoying this fic. Please do continue!

Peace c:


	21. Chapter 21

Xion licked the sea-salt ice cream bar that threatened to drip all over her jeans if left unattended for just a second. Seeing her struggle, Axel threw a bunch of napkins on her lap as he ate his own. Together the two watched the sunset on top of the clock tower that sat in the middle of the city. Access was technically restricted, but many didn't bother about the rules and just jumped across the fence to watch the last red rays of sunshine.

"Didn't bother to invite Roxas?" Axel chuckled as he took a bite of his ice cream. Xion looked at him in disapproval of his ice cream biting before licking her own.

"He seems busy nowadays. With Sora and them now."

"Ah, really now?"

"Yup…"

Xion gazed at the buildings that littered across Twilight Town and felt peace flood her as she took in the smell of her home. It was as if it was just yesterday the three of them climbed over the fence for the first time to see the beautiful sunset that spread its pink hues across the entire, vast sky. Roxas had firmly rejected the idea, being the total good kid he was, but all it took was a couple of pushing and shoving for the blond to fall over to the other side. The moment his eyes saw the beautiful horizon, it became a tradition for them to just invade the clock tower for a breather.

"I know that look anywhere. Is Xion going down the trail of loneliness again?" Axel said, amused at the forlorn gaze his best friend had on her face.

"You make me sound like I don't get enough human interaction in the day," Xion said with a roll of her eyes. "Our first semester of junior year is already coming to a close. Before you know it, we're fucking graduating."

"If you're gonna miss the school life, don't even bother. College is a long, long mile, buddy."

"I see that you're already ready for the horrors of college, huh?"

"Hell yeah, dude. What, looking over our home got you emotional?"

Xion managed a sigh before wiping her hand with a napkin with a lone drop of ice cream landed on her hand. She shrugged her shoulders. "Not necessary home. I don't know, haha."

"Roxas has been looking better recently, don't you think?" Axel suddenly switched the topic back over to Roxas, causing Xion to raise a curious eyebrow. "Been smiling more."

"Well, hasn't he always smiled?"

"But he's been meaning it more."

Xion doesn't say anything in response, since what Axel said was true. Axel smirked as he began to reach the end of his popsicle. "Our boy is becoming less of a freaking stone. Good to know there's some warmth in there."

"I like how you refer to him as some sort of cold being incapable of human emotion," Xion exaggerated as she laughed. "But you're not wrong. Boy, am I glad to see him actually crack jokes like he means it."

"You sure you're glad?"

The two of them make eye contact the moment he said that. Xion furrowed her eyebrows slightly, not sure what Axel was implying. He only had a knowing expression on his face, greatly unnerving the girl.

"What do you mean? Of course, I'm glad. Who wouldn't want the best for their best friend?"

"I know you like him. Roxas, that is."

Xion grew cold instantly when she heard the words that came out of Axel's mouth. Her first reaction was to laugh and punch him in the shoulder for saying something so ridiculous, but a croaky sound came out instead from the back of her throat.

" _Pfft_ , Axel, are you okay? Oh my gosh, I'm honestly so lost for words." Xion tried to laugh it off. She technical was not lying either. However, her fake laugh could not bypass Axel at all. He only gave her a small, closed-mouth smile as he turned away from her to cast his gaze back on the sunset.

"It's okay to at least spill it out to me. Maybe let some of that steam out before your ass locks it away again," Axel said, completely ignoring what she said. "I think now's the time too. So that it doesn't build up and explode somewhere you don't want it to."

"You're creeping me out," Xion shuddered. "Where's the Axel I know and what have you done to him?'

"Bitch, I can get sentimental too," Axel snapped back. "Who said I couldn't be a supportive friend? Also, who do you take me for? I've known you since you came out of your mother's fucking vagina. Literally! We laid next to each other in our own cribs when we—"

"Bro, I don't need a detailed description of how close we are," Xion interrupted, successfully cutting the flamehead from unnecessary rambling. "But I'm seriously okay. Just 'cause I'm looking out at the sunset in a certain way doesn't mean I'm depressed."

Axel simply shrugged. "Times like this gets you into the feels. Just looking out for you buddy. Doesn't mean I'm giving up on the whole Roxas thing. I know you've had a massive crush on him since middle school."

"… Is it that obvious?" Xion sheepishly asked after some time. She gave up trying to put up a façade against Axel. There was no way to escape from this conversation anymore if he was able to catch onto her crush from as early as middle school. A bit taken aback by Axel's attentiveness, Xion waited for his response.

"No, it's not obvious, so don't worry about that one," Axel chuckled.

"Then how'd you figure it out then?"

"It's obvious to me 'cause I'm one of your besties. I'm saying it isn't obvious to Roxas, so don't worry about him finding out or anything. That is, unless you want him to find out and—"

"No, I don't want him finding out," Xion hurriedly said, shutting down anything Axel was going to suggest. "I'm fine with how things are. Really."

"Yeah? I swear, if you just pushed, I think you could've—"

"No." Xion finished the last bite of her ice cream and checked to see if she got the "WINNER" stick. Seeing nothing, Xion huffed a disappointed breath and settled it down next to her. "Nothing needs to be done. I like it. How things are right now."

"Yeah?"

"It was horrible," she continued, deciding to spill everything to Axel. "It was horrible during that time when his mom died. It was as if he died along with her. I wish I was more help to him. I wish we both knew what to do to make him feel like the world wasn't over yet, that the pain was temporary and that things would look brighter in time, but…"

Xion clenched a fist, wondering what power she even had, "Fast forward 'til now, and he is still struggling with the after-effects."

"Xion, you know that's not true. He—"

"Bro, I didn't finish yet. Let me have my soliloquy," Xion snapped, showing half of a smile to her dear best friend. Axel jokingly locked his mouth with a key and signals for her to continue. "For years, we can both agree that he locked himself away, even from us."

"Yeah," Axel said softly, remembering those times with vivid memory.

"He got better, but I always felt like there was something else he just wasn't letting go."

"The past," Axel answered for her as he casually looked at his fingernails. "The bitch never goes away. Time heals all but it's so damn slow."

"You say it's slow now. Wait until you're eighty with a crane. Then you'll be wondering where it all went," Xion joked. Axel scrunched his face up in disgust before signaling to her once more to continue. "I could understand why he can't let go. I mean, no one has ever told him to get over it—that's just insensitive. I understand, I understand completely, but…"

Images of Sora, Riku, Namine, and Kairi began to flash by her mind. Four people was all it took to ignite a change within her best friend. Something she had struggled for so long to achieve—those four was able to do it without her even being aware of it. Dark feelings she never thought she had surfaced during the time Roxas found new friends in high school.

Sora with his sunshine smile that seemed to make him the most notorious person in the school. Xion didn't think much about him when Roxas first befriended him. Considering how he was probably one of the most popular kids out there, Xion never expected them to sustain a long-lasting friendship. However, the more she saw Roxas laugh and smile with him, the more she knew that Sora wasn't just a random somebody.

Then there was Riku with his ability to stir Roxas up. It surprised Xion that both Sora and Roxas would ever hang out with someone like that. Although Riku didn't have a positive effect on Roxas, he was still enough to cause some sort of change. Xion didn't even know about the fight they had in the hallway until whispers finally spread enough to reach her. When she first heard about it, she could not fathom the idea of Roxas ever pinning someone against the wall. However, when she saw Roxas with a hard face the next day when he spotted Riku in the hallways, she knew that there must've been some truth to the rumors.

Namine was someone that came in the package with Sora. At first, Xion couldn't see the two ever get along past surface level. Roxas wasn't one to be communicative unless someone like Sora came to prod him. However, something Xion never expected was the overwhelming similarities the two shared. Whether Roxas knew it or not, his eyes always seemed to light up by the slightest just by the mention of the blonde. Her hunch was correct when he told her about his crush—something that wasn't easy to get over the pain of.

And most importantly, there was Kairi, with her headstrong spirit that was able to move Roxas from the core. Xion will admit it—she only approached the auburn-haired girl out of curiosity. Who was the girl who had Roxas worrying over her wellbeing? Who was it that was important enough for him to pick a fight with Riku? She soon realized that there was nothing much to it—Kairi was simply a sweetheart. Who knew the school's outcast would touch the heart of someone so cold?

When Xion spoke to Namine that one time in the hallway, it felt like she was talking to herself.

 _Just because you couldn't do anything for them doesn't mean you should hold them back from moving on._

She saw herself so clearly in Namine. She saw the insecurity and the jealousy. She saw the anger from being so powerless.

Most importantly, she saw the fear—the fear of being left behind. Knowing that her friends were moving on without her, that they were changing and evolving without her being part of the picture—Xion knew these feelings very well. She knew it so well that she was able to keep it tucked away and hidden deep inside her.

"It sucked, to be honest," Xion laughed as she thought back to the internal struggle she recently dealt with. "Believing so strongly that you were starting to become insignificant to one of your best friends. But do you know what I realized?"

"What is it?" Axel asked, but he already knew what she was going to say.

"That that isn't true at all. We've always been with him, haven't we, Axel?" Xion picked up the stick she just settled down and fumbled with it. "Even though it seemed like we weren't doing much, we did, right? Just by being by his side."

"Of course."

"And that's what I like about it. I like how things are right now. Just being by his side, knowing we're irreplaceable. Knowing that even though Roxas may face new things later in life that we might not be able to be involved him, we are still here—always."

"At least you got that finally memorized," Axel smirked, finally finishing the last of his ice cream. "Was scared that wasn't going through you, but it's good to know that you've finally realized that."

"What, you already went through something similar?"

"Hell no, I'm not emotional like that." This earned him a good slap on the shoulder. "I always believed in my boy. Always believed that he wouldn't just ditch us like that. Though I could understand why anybody would feel insecure, so don't sweat it. But," Axel turned to look at Xion, who only responds with a mere raise of a brow, "You sure you're just fine being like this?"

"Of course. I've never complained before, have I? I don't want to change anything. I like the way us three are together. I don't want anything to disrupt our peaceful trio. Even if I do like him, it's not something that time can't fix. Plus," Xion yawned as she stretched her arms above her head, "Roxas has a cute little crush on someone right now. I would be a total bitch if I tried to wreck that."

"Wow, when were you ever thoughtful?"

"Wow, when were you such a dick?"

The two laughed as they mocking shoved each other's side, making sure no one fell to their doom off the clock tower. The sun was almost completely gone, signaling the end towards their sunset-watching.

"Well, if you're okay with it, then I'm okay with it too. You know, if you ever need to let it out," Axel patted himself on the shoulder, "Just release it here."

"That's disgusting, no thanks," Xion rejected his offer with a raspberry. "Don't worry, dude. You won't be getting more than today anytime soon."

"Alright, alright. Gotcha, gotcha."

When the last rays of the sun barely peak over the horizon, Xion called it a day and stood up. She reached a hand out for Axel to take.

"Shall we head home?"

Axel looked at her hand for a second before grinning and using it to hoist himself up. Before she could turn around and climb the fence, Axel stopped her with a motion of his hand.

"You know, things might not go the way you expect it to, but," Axel signaled for her to hold out her hand. She blinked as he placed his ice cream stick onto her palm. She opened her mouth to voice her complain about being his personal trash can, but when she saw the large brown print of "WINNER" running across the top of the stick, she quickly closed her mouth. "You'll always come out as a winner at the end. No doubt about it, yeah?"

"God, who knew you could be so cheesy?" Xion laughed as she moved the stick so that she would be touching the clean part and not the eaten part. "Of course, I'll always be the winner."

"I gave one to Roxas when we went here without you one day. I think you were busy doing something, but yeah," Axel pointed a finger at her, "Now that I have finally gotten a second stick, I bestow its greatness upon you."

"Thank you," Xion did a mock curtsy before giving Axel a small, appreciative hug. "Really. Thanks for being my friend. To both you and Roxas."

"Of course. Anytime."

~.~.~

"I really, really want this week to be over with."

"You're not the only one who wants to skip right to break."

Roxas gave Namine a small, encouraging smile as she rubbed a finger to her temple. Currently at the library, the two of them sat at a desk trying to study after school. However, because she was so pooped from staying up late and Roxas from track practice, the two could not muster up anymore energy to read another sentence in their textbooks.

"My final for English today killed me. I don't think I'm ready for another one tomorrow, much less math," Namine sighed as she roughly threw down her calculator back onto the table. "You would think that after doing this for three years, you would get used to this type of schedule. And where is Sora? What happened to studying together?"

"I think he's still at practice. Which is odd, since practice usually doesn't run that long," Roxas answered. He checked the time on his watch and confirmed his thought with a nod. "Yeah, he's probably doing something extra right now. Give him some more time, perhaps."

"By the time he comes here all ready to study, I'll be all ready to just leave," Namine said. Realizing how whiny she must've sounded, she stopped her complaints and hoped Roxas didn't think much of it. With the small amused smile on his face, he probably didn't. "Guess we'll just have to wait for him to finish?"

"How about this? I got a better idea."

Namine watched as he closed all his books shut and stuffed his notebooks back into his backpack. Not knowing what he was doing, she dumbly followed his actions and proceeded to pack her stuff too.

"Are we moving to another table…?" Namine asked when he still didn't say anything.

"Better. We're getting outta here." Roxas swung his backpack across his back, slinking his arms through its straps. Namine had to take a long second to realize what he said before letting out a dumb "uh."

"Out of here…? Like, outside the library?"

"What do you think 'outta here' means?" Roxas said sarcastically. She had no choice but to follow him out through the automatic doors of the library.

"But what about Sora?"

"Just shoot him a text or something."

Namine was stupefied—when was Roxas ever like this before?

"… So where are we heading though?"

"Hm, that's a good question. I didn't bring my car today either." Roxas stopped in the middle of the sidewalk to think, causing Namine to become more perplexed. He felt the cold air with his hand by waving it around a little bit before turning back to Namine. "How does hot chocolate sound?"

"Huh?" Sounding really dumb, Namine quickly recovered herself and laughed nervously. "Sure. Hot chocolate sounds pretty good right now."

"Cool."

Wordlessly, he continued on with a confused Namine following close behind him.

After a ten-minute walk, they stopped by a food truck near campus that Namine learned was parked here every Friday by the shopping center. It seemed to be pretty popular since it had its own tables and chairs set up with people occupying them in front of it.

"What, you never walked off-campus before?" Roxas asked after seeing Namine's expression.

"Of course, I have," she replied. "I just didn't know there was a truck here that was so popular on Fridays."

"Oh yeah. It sells a lot of ready-to-go food, like fries and what not. A lot of people come here, as you can tell. Let's get in line."

Five minutes later, and the two are sitting at a table with a cup of hot chocolate in their hands. Reveling in the heat that barely escaped the styrofoam cup through her hands, Namine took a small test sip. When she deemed it warm enough to drink, she began to take larger sips.

"I like this place," Roxas said to break the silence. "The hot chocolate isn't too sweet. I'm not much of a sweet tooth."

"Oh yeah? So you don't like things like candy and stuff?" Namine asked, curious.

Roxas shook his head and slightly grimaced. "Nope. I'd rather not eat those sorts of things. I do like bread though? Even the sweet ones—those are okay."

"So stuff like cream bread?"

"Uh, yeah."

Roxas didn't expect Namine to suddenly burst into small giggles. He gave her a questioning look, not understanding why she did. "Something the matter?"

"I don't know, you just don't look like the type to just go inside a bakery and get things like cream bread," she chuckled.

"What the heck, what am I supposed to look like then? Some guy who likes to eat bitter things?"

"Not exactly, but I wouldn't be surprised if you took your coffee straight black."

"I take it with a few cups of cream and sugar, just to let you know."

She laughed even harder, making a ghost of a smile appear upon his lips. Before Namine knew it, the two were talking about his interests and the things she never knew about him, such as his ideal place for vacation, his thoughts on current political controversies, and the small things he thought was funny in history.

For the first time ever, Namine felt like she was having an real conversation with him without the cold stone wall.

"You know, I always thought the recapture of Radiant Garden was the coolest event of history, but after doing a project on the war of the Moogles, I don't think I can say the same anymore."

"Oh yeah, that's right. That's an actual event in history," Namine remarked. Even though it was a renowned event, no one seemed to pay much attention to it. _Probably because it's too gruesome to imagine such cute little creatures firing machine guns._ "Was the project fun at least?"

"Definitely. I was actually interested in a history project for once."

"Was this the same history project Xion reminded you about some time ago?"

"Yup. The one with Kairi."

 _Ah, Kairi._

At the mention of the redhead, Namine got visibly tense. Roxas wasn't slow enough to miss it. They had talked about it that day when they made up—everything she felt towards the redhead, him, and Sora. None of it came as a surprise as Roxas, but the one thing that did was her unwillingness to communicate with the redhead. Roxas wasn't going to push it, but he believed things would've be a lot better of Namine took the time to reach out towards Kairi, to clear up any misunderstandings they had with each other.

Taking another shot at it, Roxas voiced his opinion. "Nams… have you thought about talking to her?"

"I haven't," Namine admitted, her previous joy from their conversations earlier gone from her face. Only a stern expression rested on her face as she clasped her cup of hot chocolate. There was something that always flowed within her every time the redhead was mention.

 _Ah, that's right._

Pure shame.

Roxas sighed out loud as he watched her index finger nervously tap her cup. Hearing his sigh of what she interpreted as disappointment, Namine caught her bottom lip between her teeth.

"Sorry."

"Hm? You don't have to be sorry about anything," Roxas assured.

"I just feel like… I don't have the right to even approach her. Or even look at her," Namine confessed. She remembered that time in the hallway, where Kairi gave her the most piercing look ever during her breakdown. Through those eyes, Namine saw despair, anger, and injustice. "I couldn't do anything for her, but instead, I harbored ill feelings towards her. And she knows of it too."

"Because she knows of it, don't you think you should clear that up? You know better than anyone else that continuing such a misunderstanding will just continue to foster itself from deep within both of you," Roxas tried to reason, but Namine shook her head.

"Both of us are too uncomfortable to face one another. We never had a conversation with each other, but I think it's clear that we don't want anything to do with each other. From all the times I gave her the cold shoulder and refused to look her in the eye, I—"

"Do you really think that's how she feels?" Roxas cut in. Normally, he would let her continue her train of thought and spill her heart out, but he had heard enough to know what she was going to say. "You just admitted to the fact that you've never had an actual conversation with each other, so how can you conclude how she feels about this matter?"

"She looked at me with those eyes, Roxas," Namine said, voice cracking at the end of her sentence. "She asked me what she did wrong with those eyes of hers. She hates me, so I think it's better if I stay away from her and—"

"Let's think about it in a simpler way. Hm…" Roxas looked around, as if trying to find something, before his eyes returned back to his cup of hot chocolate. "This will do, even though it might be the lamest analogy ever. What do you see here?" He holds up his cup of hot chocolate; Namine wondered if he was asking her a trick question.

"It's a cup of hot chocolate?"

"Yes, it is a cup of hot chocolate. What does it feel like?"

"… hot."

"Hot is correct. What was it before though?"

"Really hot."

"Right? Too hot that you couldn't even drink it because you're scared of burning your tongue. Once you burned your tongue, you're too scared to try again, right?"

"It cools down though."

Roxas snapped his fingers as if Namine just landed the jackpot. "Bingo. It cools down, right? So then you feel like it's alright to test it again, even though it was just scorching hot just earlier. You test it out again because you know it has cooled down. What about the fear from earlier? It's gone too because again, you know it has cooled down."

"Your point?"

"My point is," Roxas continued, "that the situation between you and Kairi started off unpleasant. The events that occurred during that time were also unpleasant, so it's natural that you would want to stay away from it when you remember back to it. But would you believe me that now is the right time to try to communicate? Sure, you might be scared to have another confrontation with her, but I assure you that it's not going to be like the other times. After all, the high tides have cooled down, just like this hot chocolate. Don't be scared, Namine. Kairi will understand. I know she will."

"… How is she doing?" Namine asked.

Roxas smiled. "She's doing well. She's moving forward in her own way. She too has realized that what should be done must be done—and I hope you feel the same way too. Don't be afraid, Namine. Do what you think is correct and don't be deterred by fear. Or else you'll start to regret it later down the road."

"Is that why you've changed too?" Namine abruptly asked, switching the topic over to him. "Is that why Sora has changed as well?"

"What, are you trying to say our changes are bad?" Roxas half-smirked. Namine shook her head.

"No, that's it not. I…"

Namine swallowed the huge lump in her throat before she suddenly started downing the rest of her hot chocolate, surprising Roxas greatly.

"I want to change too then. Just like you guys."

~.~.~

"Sora, you can't be serious!"

Sora laughed as his teammates Tidus and Wakka walked up to him and shook him by the shoulders. It was as if doing so could change his mind.

"This is all of a sudden. You must be joking, right?" Tidus looked Sora in the eye, and when he saw no wavering behind them, he knew their captain was dead serious.

"I'm serious, guys. It may seem all of a sudden, but it's been something I've been thinking about for a really long time now. It was a hard decision to make, no lie about that, but I'm one-hundred percent firm on it," Sora explained as he looked at all of his dear teammates straight in the eye. He didn't want this to be longer than necessary—all of them were freezing their bottoms off in their speedos. He gave them all a huge smile in an attempt to brighten up their saddened expressions. "You guys will do fine without me. I have faith in all of you."

"The blitzball team needs you. The swim team needs you. Sora, you're only a junior, can't you continue for another year? Just another year, until you graduate," Wakka tried to reason, but Sora shook his head. "What, did you grow to hate the sport?"

"It's not like I don't like swimming. I actually love it. We're right next to the damn beach—there's no way I could ever despise it for as long as I live here. But guys… I'll be honest. I've been feeling tired lately."

Tidus and Wakka let go of their captain as they stood to listen to what he had to say. Sora rubbed the back of his neck, not really wanting to get into the nitty gritty details of it, but he figured that it was the least he could do for the ones who have been by his side for the past three years.

"I always love the feel of the water against my skin when I glide in the pool. The feeling of victory whenever we win a meet, and the end-of-the-year awards that are given out to recognize those who have practiced hard. Every one of these things are dear memories to me, and they are things that have made one of the many perks of high school enjoyable. There wasn't even one second where I hated what I did—even when we had our rough downs. But you know… a person gets tired, and perhaps even want to extend out and do other things. For me, I've decided to focus on some time to myself, and if that means to take a break from the sport I love, I'll do it."

"Sora…"

"I've always wanted to pull through and continue swim, but the moment I had the thought of 'I don't want to go to practice anymore,' I knew I shouldn't continue any longer. I don't want to turn any of the incredible things I've experienced these past few years into some obligated duty. I want to do it because I want to, not because I have to. And that is what brought me to this decision today."

Sora began to get teary as he saw the emotional expressions of his teammates, especially the freshmen that just came into high school just four months ago. He didn't want to look like a disappointment to them, but he just wanted them to understand the decision he spent nights thinking about. He hoped that Tidus and Wakka could understand where he was coming from too. They were one of the senior members—they would know what to do without him.

"I never knew you felt that way…" Tidus muttered as he looked at his feet.

"What can I say, I'm good at hiding things," Sora smiled.

Disappointment and disapproval were the two things he expected, but Sora didn't expect a tearful hug from Tidus himself.

"Stupid, you should've told us right from the get-go," Tidus roughly said to prevent his voice from cracking as he gave Sora a harsh thump on the back. "What have you been holding back all this time?"

"Tidus…"

"You know, things will be rough without you. This is a hard pill to swallow, and it'll take some time to adjust to. There isn't anybody in this entire world that can replace you as our capable captain, but," Wakka rubbed his nose with a finger before managing a small smile. "I think we can do it. Right, team?"

"Yes!" everyone cheered, shocking Sora immensely. That was the saddest team cheer Sora had ever heard in his swimming career, but oddly enough, it was one of the most confident ones he had ever heard. Maybe he wasn't wrong, and maybe he didn't have to worry about anything.

Surely, they would be fine on their own. He believed in each and every single one of them.

"Thank you, guys. For understanding. I'm never going to forget any of the things I've experienced here at this pool. I'll always be rooting for you guys, and when I have time, I'll come watch your meets. This won't be the last time you see my face by the poolside."

"We better see you by the bleachers," Tidus smirked.

"And even when I'm gone, have our goals changed?"

"No!"

"What are we always aiming for, guys?"

"Championships!"

For the last time ever in his high school sports career, Sora huddled into a circle with his team and did the school chant.

"Who are we?"

"Moogles!"

And together, they all threw their hands up in the air and hollered their spirits into the cold air of the winter.

 _Goodbye, blitzball. And goodbye swim. It's been a great three years. And thank you._

~.~.~

Kairi tested the wood of the canoe, making sure it was sturdy enough to hold her weight in the water. Grabbing the oars off from the ground, she tossed them in gently into the canoe before pushing it off into the waters. She jumped into it before the waves could sweep the canoe away and comfortably sat herself in the base. Dipping the two oars into the water, she began her short journey over to the small island that stemmed from the main island.

 _You can find him there. I heard from Sora that he likes to go there a lot to do some thinking. Chances are that he'll be there quite frequently since it's finals week to blow off some steam._

With Roxas's words in mind, Kairi set forth to do something she should've done ages ago.

* * *

Hi guys, it's been a while since i last updated this fic! Idk if you guys can probably tell from this chapter, but I believe this fic is coming to a close soon (unless something more pops in my mind and I can somehow stretch it out). I've been thinking a lot about how this should end, so do look forward to have I have in store for the next few chapters! Thank you for all the support, I never thought this fic would get as many readers! I love reading all the reviews and the PM's; thanks guys for indirectly pushing me to complete this fic haha. Definitely writer's block has been killing me with this story (Hence why I've been updating BGC more) but my writing brain isn't completely dead!

But anyway, yes, here is another update! I hope you guys also enjoyed this one. I wanted to write more about the other characters, so this is the chapter for it. Please do leave a review and tell me what you guys think!

Best, Crescelia


	22. Chapter 22

"It looks like I'm interrupting something here… Should I just," Sora jerked a thumb towards the opposite direction, "leave?"

"You're not interrupting anything," Namine said, discreetly shooting Sora the evil without letting Roxas see. "So why don't you just stay, you flaker?"

"'Flaker'? Excuse me? Does it look like I flaked here?" Sora pulled out the third chair surrounding the table and sat down. He took Namine's cup of hot chocolate and took a huge gulp, earning him a huge punch on the shoulder.

"Buy your own."

"Stingy with just a sip? I thought you were better than that," Sora grinned as he gave her back her cup. "Anyways, what happened to studying? Why you guys out here?"

"Well, we _were_ studying until someone decided not to show up," Namine growled. Roxas raised an eyebrow. He wasn't sure why he never noticed it before, but Sora and Namine always seemed to get into small disputes from time to time.

"He probably has a reason for it, right, Sora?" Roxas gave Sora the benefit of the doubt.

Sora nodded. "Something came up after practice, so I had to stay a while."

"Oh? What happened?" Namine asked.

At her question, Sora grew visibly uncomfortable. Piquing the interest of both his closest friends, Sora backed away from his seat when the two leaned closer on the table. Since the topic came up, Sora decided to tell them—after all, he had to sooner or later.

"I'm quitting sports next semester and for the rest of my high school career," Sora stated, making sure it was lighthearted by flashing his infamous smile. He knew the news came as a shock to his friends, for Namine only blinked slowly at him while Roxas's mouth hung open. Before he knew it, they were all over his face.

"Sora, are you serious?" Namine asked.

"Are you sure about this? I thought you loved blitzball and swimming," Roxas questioned.

Sora pointed both his index fingers at Namine. "Yes, I am serious." Then he moved his fingers to point at Roxas. "And yes, I'm sure about this. And I do love blitzball and swimming."

"Then why?" the blondes asked.

Sora sighed, not knowing where to begin without getting all sentimental about it. He already had a moment with his team; he didn't want another with his pals.

"Didn't you always tell me that if I'm tired, I should quit, Namine?" Sora simply said, his smile smaller now as he looked her in the eye. She widened her eyes by the slightest and opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out. He raised an eyebrow at her, as if challenging her, before he laughed. "What, you didn't expect me to actually do it?"

"Yeah, I didn't," Namine admitted. "What's with the sudden change?"

"There was no sudden change. I was always tired with the schedule I had with sports. Even though I would love to continue it, I don't think I can handle it. Plus, I wanna do other stuff, and to do so, I just gotta clear my schedule."

Roxas raised a brow. "Other stuff?"

Sora grinned and waved a hand to dismiss the entire topic. "Nothing, nothing. Guys, what is important is that I am happy with my decision, alright? Don't worry about me so much. I really did do a lot of thinking to reach this decision. I swear."

The blondes sighed but nonetheless accepted his answer. Sora looked around the shopping center and clicked his tongue. "So is anybody gonna tell me how long we're gonna stay here?"

"What, you want to haul ourselves back to the library to study?" Namine said with a roll of her eyes. "I'm going to fail my final. I've already accepted that fact."

"Aw, don't say that," Roxas chuckled.

"It's been a while, huh? Since the three of us hung out. Well, unless you want to count me out, I'll gladly leave and—"

"Sora, _shut it_ ," Namine hissed. Sora simply laughed.

Everything was back to normal again—or, at least some part of it.

"Oh yeah, question for you, Roxas," Sora took his turn to throw a question at Roxas. Curious as to what Sora could inquire about, Roxas nodded his head towards him.

"Yeah, what up?"

"It's been bothering me for a while, but where has Kairi been for the past freaking week?"

Roxas smirked. "Shouldn't you know the answer to that?"

Sora blinked once. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"How come everyone seems to magically assume that I know the wellbeing of Kairi?" At this, Roxas shot a look at Namine, who only cleared her throat and looked away. "We're not even that close."

"Yeah, and you still somehow manage to know what's going on with her every single time. So much for being not close," Sora retorts back, all in good fun.

"Coincidence. I swear."

"Right. But yeah. I _know_ that you know, but I'll ask anyway for formalities. What's she up to?"

Sora admitted that what he did was a rash move. Kairi could've been ignoring him for all he knew and sought every opportunity to avoid him in the hallways, but when he didn't see her for the past three days, he knew something was up. Kairi wouldn't ignore him for three days straight over something like that. It wasn't just what happened between them that day—there was something else bothering her. Call him a busybody, but concern was the only thing plaguing him as he wondered about her status.

"What makes you think something's up?" Roxas continued to dodge the question, making Sora more certain that there was something going on. Realizing his mistake, Roxas breathed a sigh and drank the last of his now-cold hot chocolate. "You're not going to stop asking me even if I don't give in, aren't you?"

Sora grinned. "You know my stubborn side all too well."

Roxas scratched his cheek, deciding whether or not to disclose whatever information he had. Now that he grabbed Namine's attention too, he was more pressured to spill. When both pairs of eyes were as big as flashlights, Roxas heaved another sigh and admitted defeat.

"Promise me you aren't going to run off somewhere," Roxas said to Sora. In return, he gave the blond a strange look.

"… What makes you think I'll run off?"

And so, Roxas proceeded to tell Sora about Kairi's whereabouts.

 _~7 minutes later~_

"I'm going," Sora stated firmly as he stood up and pushed in his chair. Before he could go anywhere, Roxas reacted as fast as lightening and stood up as well, grabbing Sora by the crook of his elbow to stop him from going anywhere.

"What happened to not going anywhere?" Roxas said, hard with his tone as he held Sora back. "I only told you hoping you weren't going to storm off."

"Do you remember what happened last time? How could I stand still knowing it could happen again?" Sora exasperated. "Roxas, let go of me."

"What are you going to do, just barge in there and take her away?"

"Roxas—"

"Sora, she's not that weak to need you by her side twenty-four seven," Roxas sternly interrupted him, shutting Sora's mouth closed. "Do you think you're doing her justice by popping in all the time and playing superhero?"

"Superhero?" Sora scoffed. "You know it's not like that. I'm just worried for her."

"Instead of worrying about her, why don't you just trust her and let her do what she needs to do?"

"She doesn't need to do it this way."

"Respect her decision and leave her to do what she wants."

"Roxas!"

"How long are you going to make her dependent on you?" Roxas hissed back. "It took a lot for her to make this decision, and you're not going to ruin it."

Sora tightened his jaw, feeling extremely attacked with the way Roxas had been phrasing things. "This isn't about dependence or independence. It's about whether those two will—"

"Do you not trust them?"

"Of course, I do! But—"

"Guys, wanna shut up for a second and not embarrass me any second longer?"

The two males instantly shut up when they heard the voice of Namine's. She had an eyebrow high up on her forehead as she gave them both glares. Looking around, they realized how they were getting a few stares. Roxas let Sora go and felt the collar of his shirt while Sora cleared his throat.

"Sorry, Roxas," Sora quickly apologized.

"Yeah, me too."

 _The good thing about these two is that they're not good at fighting_ , Namine thought to herself as crossed her legs from underneath the table.

"How about we all compromise, hm?"

~.~.~

Kairi had a hard time rowing her canoe over to the island. Even though the distance wasn't too long, it didn't matter if she couldn't move the canoe right. She thought rowing would be easy, but it proved difficult as she struggled to go any direction that wasn't a circle.

"Maybe I should've thought this out more carefully," Kairi muttered to herself. Luckily for her, the waves were calm; it was as if they were all just watching her fail.

After what felt like forever, Kairi managed to reach the small island. She settled the canoe on the shore, making sure it won't get washed away by the water. She parked it right next to another canoe, which told her that she came at the perfect time.

 _Past the beach, across the bridge…_ Kairi reminded herself of Roxas's directions. _Paopu tree…?_

The island wasn't too big, so it didn't take Kairi too long to understand Roxas's explanation about the island's layout. With a treehouse and everything, it seemed like a place for children to come play, even though it was dangerous enough already to get to the island.

Once she spotted the bridge from the shore, she could see the oddly shaped paopu tree that curved almost horizontally. When he saw a lone figure from the far distance, her heart rate increased just by the slightest. She could just go back on her canoe and row back to the main island. She could pretend that she never came here and avoid her problems.

However, she did enough of that already.

Not wanting to back out anymore this time, Kairi made her journey across the bridge and towards the paopu tree. The closer she got, the clearer she saw the familiar wisps of silver hair anywhere. He had his arms crossed against his chest as he leaned against the curve of the paopu tree. He was unmoving, eyes staring at the slowly descending sun from the horizon. A little part of her didn't want to disturb such a peaceful moment, but it was also the perfect moment to come in. She crossed her fingers behind her back before she willed herself to move forward.

"Riku," she said. It came out so softly that she didn't expect him to hear her at all. However, the wind was able to carry her voice over to him. Immediately, Riku whipped his head over and steeled his gaze when he saw her.

"What are you doing here?" he sharply asked. Kairi flinched at the harshness of his voice. For her to be here, Riku knew that either Sora or Roxas told her about his routinely visits. Considering how Sora probably wouldn't want him to be anywhere near Kairi, he pinpointed it down to Roxas.

 _He likes to go over to one of the islands to watch the sunset. It's a place where he does his thinking too. Considering that it's finals week too, he'll most likely be there. That would probably be the best time to talk to him._

"I just wanna talk," Kairi answered him, voice louder now. She didn't come here to play the fear card. She took a step closer, making Riku turn his body to fully face her. "I think we both need to talk it out."

"There's nothing to talk about. Go away," he hissed.

"I don't want us to have a problem anymore. If there's a problem, then let's fix it here," she tried to persuade. "You probably don't want me here—"

"Damn right I don't want you here."

"But please, for me. For Sora… For you."

Riku tightened his jaw, not looking pleasant at all. Kairi finally walked towards him enough to have a maintainable conversation, but she made sure to keep a distance—she didn't want to anger him more.

"I have nothing to say to you. Don't you like how things are right now anyway? Everyone already hates me—you've won," Riku spat bitterly. "Now that you've won, just leave me alone."

"Hate? Riku, I don't think anyone hates you…"

Riku let out a dark cackle, as if extremely amused by what she just said. He gave her a deranged look. "Let's look around us and see who even wants to talk to me anymore. Namine always had a dislike for me, Roxas blew his top, and now Sora's out of the picture too. If you wanna say they don't hate me, I challenge you."

"They don't hate you," Kairi immediately responded back. There wasn't a hint of hesitance in her deliverance. She knew none of them hated him. They all just had issues that needed to be resolved, and the first one that needed to be fixed was the one between her and Riku. After all, she was the one who started this entire mess in the first place.

She took another step forward. She tried to smile, but it probably came out as a weak, nonexistent one. "None of them hate you. I think all of you just need a talk. _We_ need to talk."

"There's nothing to talk abou—"

"I got kidnapped when I was five."

The air went still. It was as if they had an audience with them amongst the skies. The soft wind that blew across them halted to listen to their conversation. Kairi gave Riku a stronger smile—a rueful smile. The menace that plagued his eyes slowly dissolved as his mind processed what she just said.

"H-huh?"

Kairi uncomfortably rubbed the side of her arm. She didn't want to explain much about it, but she had to to get Riku to understand her—even just by the slightest.

"A person just randomly pulled over by the street and took me. It was a man. I still don't know who he is today," she explained vaguely. However, she didn't need to go into the details for Riku to understand what she implied. "I don't know why, but after a while, he dumped me onto the streets during the night, thirty minutes from home. I eventually got back home with the help of the people in the neighborhood, but… yeah.

"After that whole bizarre incident, I just had a phobia that you probably already know about. So if any of that clears up anything…"

"What, you just came all the way here to give a sob story?"

She sucked in her lips as Riku hardened his gaze. However, he must've been affected. After all, his voice cracked by the slightest. "I don't care what happened to you."

"I just wanted to tell you to explain myself."

"It doesn't change anything."

 _In eighth grade, she lost her mom!_

Riku balled his hands into fists as he fought away Sora's words that managed to come back, clear as day in his mind.

He didn't want to talk to Kairi anymore. It didn't matter what she said or what her situation was. It didn't matter to him if how he handled the situation was wrong, or if all of his friends hated him.

There was one thing he accepted: he had gone too far, and there was no room for forgiveness in anyone for him. Guilt had already rooted itself deep within his conscious; he didn't need anymore of it. He didn't need anymore reason to hate himself.

 _And to think it all started out with a silly crush and an inferiority complex_ , Riku thought darkly to himself.

He liked it, feeling power from asserting power on the weak. It gave him a sense of superiority—it gave him protection from any mean comments that came at him. It wouldn't hurt because he knew he would be better than them—or at least feel like it. However, there was one thing that could never allow him to completely ascend to this chair of superiority.

Guilt and shame. The words never came out easily for him. The cruel jokes never flowed out of his mouth smoothly. He got used to saying them after many years of doing so, but these two elements would always hold him back.

Even though these two things were always resilient, there was something that never stopped him completely: Sora. Sora's acceptance made him feel like it was okay to continue. Along with Namine and Roxas, who also tolerated his being, Sora made him feel like what he did wasn't too wrong by staying with him through all those years. He never questioned him, nor did he treat him any differently.

It was when Riku realized that all of it had been fake, that Sora too also tolerated him only because of his obligation as a best friend. He too had broke along with Roxas and Namine. At first, he directed his anger at Kairi; it was all her fault. It was all her fault that his friend group shattered, that Sora turned his back away from him. It was all her fault that things became the way they were. However, as things cooled down, he realized one obvious thing that he had been denying all along.

It was _his_ fault.

It wasn't Kairi's fault or anybody's fault that things turned out the way they were. It was his—and his alone. He didn't deserve anyone's forgiveness. There wasn't anything that was going to change that.

"It does change something. I didn't come all the way over here so that it doesn't."

Slowly, Kairi took another step forward, a mere arm's-length reach from Riku. He watched as her arm slowly lifted, reached out towards him, and grabbed his wrist. With a soft motion, she cupped his hand between hers and gave it a gentle squeeze. It was shaky, her hold. She would be lying if she said she wasn't nervous at all. No, the jittery feelings immediately sparked itself through her veins. She wanted to pull away, but it wasn't because she was scared. No, she was just uncomfortable. However, the whole situation was uncomfortable, and discomfort wasn't going to ward her away from facing her problems.

"Riku… Let's go. Let's go back to the main island… Everyone's waiting for you. You don't have to hold any lonely feelings to yourself anymore…" Kairi said, nervousness clear in her voice. However, she didn't waver. Her hands felt soft against his calloused one. "Let's just start anew. I'm sorry for all the distress I've given you and all the discomfort I may have caused. So let's go back together, hm?"

For a moment, Riku almost said yes. He really wanted to go back. He really did. The loneliness had been eating him away as he realized his wrong. However, he caught himself and roughly retracted his hand away from hers.

"I don't want your apology." _I should be the one giving the apology._ "I don't want any of your pity either." _I know it's not pity._ "So buzz off and leave me alone." _Don't leave me alone._ He walked past her, wanting to escape from the eyes that seemed to penetrate his very being. He didn't want to be here anymore.

"Riku, wait," Kairi desperately reached out another hand to grab him by the elbow, preventing him from going any further. "Please, if something else is bothering you, I really believe we should talk it out. I don't want any more problems between us anymore. This is something that I should've done long time ago, so I'm finally doing it now. Don't go."

"Let go of me!" Riku barked, and he ripped her arm off from his and shoved her away.

He didn't realize how hard he pushed her, so when he was met with a sudden dead silence and a sound of a splash from under, panic never hit him so hard nor so quickly before.

Immediately turning around, his fear came true when he saw no redhead in sight. His instincts took over as he scrambled towards the edge of the tiny cliff and peered over it _. No one would get badly hurt from a fall like this,_ he reasoned with himself. _The fall is short._

However, when he failed to see her break the surface, the worst thought overwhelmed him. _Does she know how to swim?_

"Riku, now's not the time for thinking!"

With a huge boost of adrenaline, Riku didn't think twice to jump down from the cliff as well. It was one thing to bully the redhead, but it was another if he caused her death. He would never live it down.

"Kairi, where the fuck are you?" he yelled as he popped his head from the water and frantically looked around for her body. "Kairi!" The water wasn't that deep either, so where the hell was she?

After swimming around for a couple more seconds, he could see the outline of her figure from beneath. He quickly swam over to where she was, and without a single thought, grabbed her from underwater and heaved her up. Up she came, and before she could say anything, Riku started yelling in her face.

"Holy fuck, are you okay?"

"Riku?"

"If you didn't know how to fucking swim, then why the hell did you even come here!"

"Riku, I—"

"What if you actually died? Holy shit, I don't think I—"

"Riku! I'm okay!" Kairi pulled herself away from him—she wasn't completely comfortable with him holding onto her. She successfully showed him that she, indeed, could swim. "Please calm down."

The two waddled in the water, staring at each other in mystification as the both tried to register what the other party thought. Realizing how he thought she could've been drowning, Kairi was quick to explain.

"I know how to swim. I just… landed my foot on a sea cucumber when I reached the bottom of the seabed. I felt bad, so I was just checking on it…" Kairi explained lamely, already feeling her arms tiring as she floated on the water. It was a good thing the water was deep enough for the dive down, or else a bone or two would've been broken.

Riku only stared at her with wide-eyed, at disbelief at what she just said.

"A sea cucumber?"

"… Yes."

"A fucking sea cucumber?"

"…"

"Fuck this shit, I'm done," was the last thing he said to her as he swam and circled back to shore. Kairi wordlessly followed him—she didn't want to stay in the water anymore either.

When they both came out of the water dripping wet on the shore, Kairi didn't stop bombarding him. She ran past him and blocked his way. When he tried to sidestep, she did the same. It was clear that she wasn't letting him go.

"Move please," Riku seethed.

"I'm not moving until we talk things out."

"There's nothing to talk about."

"Riku…"

"I don't care what you have to say."

"If you didn't care, then why did you jump down to save me?"

"Because—!" Riku ran a hand roughly through his wet locks. Why was she asking this question? It was obvious. "What did you expect me to do, let someone die in front of my eyes?"

"If I had died down there," Kairi began, her eyes flaring as she stared straight into Riku. If she didn't bump it up a notch, there was no way she was ever going to get through to him. "If you had only one thing left to say to me before I died, what would you say?'

"What the hell are you saying right now? Hurry up and _move out of my way_!" Riku didn't give a crap anymore as he shoved past her, touching or not. What he didn't expect was for her to actually grab him by the shoulder and push him back to his where he came from. Stumbling, he nearly fell over if he didn't dig his heels into the sand.

"Nothing's going to change if you keep acting this way!" she yelled, getting extremely tired of his stubbornness. The hard look Riku had on his face immediately dissolved the moment he heard her anger. He had a hard time believing what he saw in front of his eyes at the moment. Where was it?

Where was the weak girl that always cowered underneath his gaze every time they saw each other? He didn't know this Kairi at all. The only thing he saw was a girl that was determined to change his mind no matter what, even if it meant staying on this island for the rest of the night.

"I…"

"Sora's waiting you know. And Roxas. And even Namine. I know they are. So let's clear everything up for everyone, okay?" Kairi softened her gaze as she saw Riku waver.

That was what he wanted too.

 _Riku! Come here, dude, you're on my team!_

 _Am I really still on your team?_ Riku thought bitterly to himself as he held a downcast look at his hands. _Do I deserve to be?_

"If you had one last thing to say to me before this world ended, what would you say to me?" Kairi urged once more, and her nth time pushing was enough to bring it out of him.

"I'm sorry."

Yes, that would be the last thing he would say to her if the world just ended. Before the world ended, he had to make sure she knew that.

It was just two simple words. However, they were two simple words that were so difficult to say. Why couldn't he have done it earlier? Why couldn't he have realized earlier how his way of protecting himself wasn't the right way? If he did, he probably wouldn't be in this situation. He would be laughing with Sora, joking around with Roxas, and teasing Namine.

He would be talking with Kairi, just like two normal schoolmates should.

Although the two simple words were difficult, it never felt so easy as it slipped through his lips and into the open for Kairi to hear. A little part of him wanted to be embarrassed and hide away from her stare. However, because he felt so much relief from speaking those words, he stayed firm on his feet as he repeated those words. "I'm sorry."

Kairi didn't say anything back. The only thing she did was walk up towards him, took his wrist, and led him back over to the canoes. Once she let him go, she reached inside his canoe and gave him his oars. He stared at her, dumbfounded—what was she doing?

With a small, closed-mouth smile, she urged him to take the oars. Kairi didn't need to say anything anymore; it was all evident in her eyes.

 _Let's go home._

Silently, they rowed their canoes back to the main island, where Sora, Roxas, and Namine sat by the dock waiting for them. The moment each party saw each other, the three of them stood up and waved both their hands in the air in happy greetings. Kairi returned the gesture as she raised up both her oars up in the air, a huge smile on her face.

As for Riku, he turned his head back to look at the beautiful sunset that lit the waters in its orange glow.

 _I guess I am home._

* * *

Hello, reviews and procrastination motivated me enough to pump this chapter out! Honestly, every time I reach the end of a story, I feel like I start to rush... so if this making up part between Kairi and Riku felt rushed... I'm sorry, I'm just not that good of a writer yet xDDDD But anyway

YES, WE'RE REACHING THE END SLOWLY BUT SURELY. PROBABLY 4 MORE CHAPTERS? Haha, idk, we'll have to see what pops up in my mind. Ty to **NinjaQueen33, Q-A the Authoress, Ima Nonyme, Yurosoku, actress4him,** and **Dargonlover1234** for reviewing last chapter! Y'all are regulars (i remember who reviewed my fanfic) so ty for keeping my writing spirit alive! Definitely gets me writing faster, so your comments definitely aren't for nothing! And all my silent readers, you guys aren't for nothing either so! I love the numbers hew hew hew

Ik y'all dying for some sokai moments but yo writer here needs to fix some loose ends before i reach that point *sunglasses* STAY PATIENT! I also have finals in two weeks, so the patience is really needed before another update comes lol

But yes, hope you guys enjoyed! Peace.


	23. Chapter 23

Kairi let out a heavy breath as she pulled the drawer of her table. Revealed was a picture that faced upside down, and it took Kairi a shaky hand to take it out and flip it around. She looked endearingly at the photo as her feelings took a trip down memory lane—something she didn't allow herself to go on very often.

It was a picture of her family: just her, her father, and her mother. This was the time where they were happily on vacation at the other side of Destiny Islands, a place where many tourists visited to see the long bridge that stretched for miles. She was only ten years old, but she wasn't too young enough to not appreciate the view she saw that day with two of the most important people in her life by her side. A stranger had kindly taken the picture of the three of them with the gigantic red bridge just stretching across the horizon of the sky, illuminated with the bright lights of the city.

By her desk laid Roxas's crystal frame that he had given her so long ago faced down. With her other hand, Kairi gently grasped it and lifted it up to hold next to the picture she hadn't taken out in years. Slowly and carefully, she turned the notches that secured the back of the empty frame and took it out. She took the old photo and placed it against the clear and clean glass before securing the back once more. Propping the leg out so that the frame could stand on its own on her table, Kairi pushed her chair back so that she could marvel at what she had done. Then, she smiled.

"Welcome back home, Mom."

The next day around dinner time, she approached the living room with frame held securely against her chest. She slowly made her way towards the hunched form on the sofa, making sure he was aware of her presence with her footsteps. Seeing that it was okay and that he wasn't throwing an episode, Kairi came up close enough so that she was standing in front of him before knelting down.

"Dad?"

She watched as his head slowly rose to look up at her. Once she established eye contact with those hollow eyes of his, Kairi slowly revealed the frame in her arms. She turned it around so that he could see it clearly, and with the biggest smile she could offer, she urged him to take a look. His eyes stayed on hers for a moment before he glanced at what was in her hands.

Wordlessly with shaky hands, he took the picture from her hold and looked at it with an unreadable expression. Kairi didn't know how long she had to stand there, and she definitely didn't know how long her father took to look at the photo, but when a soft sob broke out from her father's throat, she made sure that he knew she was there for him.

After all, she always had been. And so had her mother.

~.~.~

Before Xion knew it, finals week was over, and everyone was officially released for winter break.

"Holy shit, that thing _killed_ me," Xion exasperated as she walked out of her class and down the hallway with Roxas. "Dumbass math class with dumbass exam—can it get any dumber?"

"I told you to study instead of watching those sappy dramas that takes days out of your life," Roxas laughed at the raven-haired's complaints. "Axel isn't any better. He played games until his eyes were ready to dry out and go blind right before his chemistry final. You two shouldn't be complaining at _all._ "

"Humor us a little, won't you? Geez. Not everyone has brains like you."

Roxas had to take a step to the side when Xion started to drill a finger into the side of his head to prove her point. "How does it feel to be gifted?"

"I'm not gifted, okay?"

"That's what all gifted people say."

Xion yelped when she found a foreign arm suddenly swing across her shoulders. Before she knew it, Roxas and her were back side-to-side clasped together.

"Wow, we got someone who aced his exams, don't we?" Roxas chuckled. "Happiness is literally radiating off of you."

"I'll let you know that I bombed harder than a Zettaflare bomb," Sora snorted as he let his friends go and squished right in between them. "I should be caring since college admissions is in less than a year, but at this point, there is no point. It's winter break!"

"This is how people like you get multiple rejection letters," Xion snidely said, and this earned her tighter grip around the shoulders. If it got any tighter, Sora might as well just put her under a headlock.

"Don't curse me like that already. You hurt my feelings."

"Good. Maybe then you can finally get your hands off me."

Sora laughed as Xion clawed at him to regain her personal space. He let go of Roxas a well, and together, the three exited through the double doors of the school to start their winter break. It would be a new year the next time they step foot on their lovely campus. This time, they would go in together as a group—no longer as fragmented pieces of a puzzle. This time for sure.

"So, uh, where is everybody?" Sora asked, seeing how it was just the three of them. He had thought that he would at least run into another one of their friends, but he surprisingly didn't.

"Axel's hanging out with the Organization right now," Xion explained. Then she paused, thinking about who else she would know the whereabouts of, only to shake her head. "That's all I know. Where's Namine?" Of course, this question was only meant for one person.

"Am I some sort of Namine-detector?" Sora scoffed. "I wouldn't know. She's probably staying after class or something after a final to have some nerdy discussions with the teacher," then Sora turned his head towards Roxas, "But anyway. Would you happen to know where Kairi is?"

"Am I some sort of Kairi-detector?" Roxas repeated, half-joking and half not—this whole ruse was starting to get old. "Again, what makes you think I would know?"

"Keep feigning ignorance, friend. I will discover your ways one day," Sora said as he rolled his eyes. Roxas just smiled while shaking his head slightly, amused by his friend's determination for a skill that he already had—he just didn't know of it yet.

"Has everything been okay between you guys though?" Xion suddenly asked as they reached the fronts of the school. "I heard from Axel who heard it from you, Roxas, that something happened last week between y'all and Riku. Of course ya girl over here didn't get any details since I'm apparently not ever included in such important discussions." She crossed her arms, and a small pout formed at her lips. In response, Roxas patted her shoulder apologetically.

"It's 'cause it was an issue that didn't quite involve us."

"Huh?"

"We were just… _spectators_. Right, Sora?"

"Yeah, I never felt so useless in my life," Sora half-joked. "Whatever happened on the island stayed in the island; Riku and Kairi never discussed it ever again. And we never mentioned anything about it either once they returned to the main island."

"Sora, I do hope you realize that I don't get the context here," Xion deadpanned, but she waved the matter off with a hand. "Whatever. Doesn't matter. As long as everything ended up well, right?"

"I mean, we haven't gotten together since to be honest because of finals, but sure, I would like to say that we're all good." Sora couldn't help but sigh though. When Kairi and Riku returned to the main islands all soaked and cold, he knew something major must've happened, but he didn't dare question it. After all, the serene looks of resolution across their faces was something he did not want to disturb with his curiosity, and he was sure that Roxas and Namine felt the same way as they waved at the two from the distance. When the two finally reached land on their canoes, no one questioned anything, and no one said anything that would provoke explanations from the two. They were simply ushered to go back home, get changed, and stay healthy for finals week. That was that.

"Wow, speak of one of the devils—there's Kairi right there," Xion said, spotting the redhead waiting by the side across the parking lot. Signature books clutched to her chest, she stood her ground as if waiting for something. When her eyes met all of them, her eyes lit up as she walked towards them. Sora gulped; it had been forever since they were in each other's presence under normal circumstances, and it had been eternity since they ever had time alone. He had so many questions to ask her and so many things to say—he wondered if he would ever get his turn with her.

"Hi, guys," she greeted, her warm breath mingling with the cold air. "I haven't seen you guys in a really long time."

"We haven't seen life and sunlight for a really long time," Xion joked, referring to their finals week. "But now we are ready to integrate ourselves back into the real world. How were your finals, Kairi?"

"They were alright."

"Just alright," Sora repeated, eyebrow raised. Kairi nodded, snuggling closer to her scarf so that it almost covered half her face.

"Classes are hard," was all she said, and that earned a laugh from Roxas.

"The dead and raw truth. You probably did fine anyway. You're quite studious—unlike some knucklebrains I know."

"Guys, it's getting hot in here because I feel like I'm getting roasted," Sora fanned himself jokingly. "I don't appreciate this type of treatment." Roxas mere shook his head, amused that Sora always had something to say as a response to turn the whole thing into a laughing matter.

"Were you waiting for something, Kairi?" Roxas asked. Kairi nodded.

"I wanted to wish you guys a good break. And also…" she paused as she stared to fidget with the edges of her book. "I opened it. The thing you guys gave me in a blue bag. Just like you instructed Xion—when I felt like the time was right. I opened it during finals week."

Sora, Roxas, and Xion understood what she was talking about, and they all broke into smiles.

"I hope it was able to do you some good like it was intended to," Xion said softly. "It's all genuine. The contents."

"I know. I can tell, and I wanted to see you guys—or at least most of you as much as I can—before the break starts. To say thank you and see you guys with happiness when we all come back," Kairi explained, although she really didn't need to explain. All her intentions and actions were always heartfelt and meaningful, and it would take an idiot to not know that.

"You make it sound like we're not going to meet up or something during the break," Sora said, eyebrow raised. When Kairi didn't answer and simply looked at her feet on the ground, his words were confirmed true. "Oh my gosh, Kairi, of course we're all going to meet up; it's break!"

"I can meet up with you guys? On your precious break?" Kairi started to feel the edges of her book again as her shyness overtook her entire persona once more. Xion's heart clenched as she nodded excitedly.

"Of course! That's what break is for anyway—family and definitely friends! You're so silly, Kairi."

"Hehe, sorry." The blush that tinted Kairi's cheeks from the cold added to her shy look, and Sora swore he was going to die. _God, she's so cute_.

When all four of them suddenly fell silent, Sora, Roxas, and Xion waited patiently to see what else Kairi had in store for them considering how she was still nervously fidgety. Of course, they didn't rush her. In fact, they were amazed—amazed that Kairi was able to speak this much to them in a group setting in the first place. Whatever she had to say, they would wait for happily.

"Sorry," was all she muttered before she placed her books down and did something that knocked both Sora's and Xion's eyes clean out of their sockets.

"Oh," Roxas let out dumbly as he found himself stumbling back a little bit and blinking rapidly at what was bestowed upon him.

A hug.

"Thank you for everything, Roxas," Kairi said into his winter coat, arms encircling his middle. "Really. Thank you."

Sora's and Xion's mouths were shamelessly wide open as the two also stumbled back from the unexpected action by the redhead. They were shameless enough to ogle the two during their moment as well.

"Aw, Kairi," Roxas couldn't help but coo as he quickly put his awkwardly floating arms to use by returning her hug gently. One of his hands patted her back rhythmically. "You have nothing to thank me for, and I did nothing to deserve your thanks."

"That's not true," Kairi said, and that was all she said. If she were to explain her reasoning, they wouldn't be able to go back home. Hopefully, everything she wanted to express to the blond could be relayed through their heartfelt embrace. When the two let go of each other, Kairi scooted over to face Xion, who stared at her wide-eyed in shock still. Even _she_ couldn't manage to hug the cold-hearted Roxas, her dear best friend, yet Kairi made it seem so easy despite the fact that in reality, such a hug could've cause her to enter a mode of panic.

Kairi's arms found themselves around Xion this time, chin snuggling into her shoulder as Kairi reveled in the softness of Xion's winter coat as well. Xion reacted the same way as Roxas, blinking dumbly at the air in front of her as the redhead held her.

"Thanks for everything, Xion, within the short time we've talked."

"Kairi, you're going to kill me," Xion sniffed as she gladly returned the hug with a tight squeeze. "You're too adorable, please stop. I haven't done much for you."

"That's not true," Kairi repeated her earlier answer to Roxas. "Very not true." She let go and gave Xion a small smile, which the raven-haired girl returned as well with just as much vibrancy.

Then, Kairi turned to Sora, who was not quite over the initial shock of her hug with Roxas yet. With his mouth at least closed now, Sora returned her soft gaze, putting such petty thoughts behind him. If his past self were to behold his eyes on the girl in front of him, he wouldn't believe that this girl was Kairi at all. There were many things that characterized Kairi in the beginning: posture crouched over, eyes filled with fear, clothes that covered ever inch of her body, hands shivering from anxiety, everything that Sora didn't want to see in a person. However, that wasn't the case anymore. He didn't have to worry about her ever returning to that state.

Because he knew that she would never give up in trying to find a better version of herself.

"Sora, I…" Kairi trailed off, not sure on what to say to Sora. She felt nervous; it had been a while since they last stood face-to-face like this. It had been so long since she truly saw his oceanic eyes. There were too many things to say specifically to the boy who started it all. What words could she have said to him that would make him realize the pools of appreciation she had for him that spanned the depths of eternity?

With shaky hands, Kairi reached out for Sora's hands that stood loosely by his sides and clasped them, bringing them to the middle between them. Sora wasn't hesitant to hold her hands back, surprising her when he gave her a squeeze back.

What could she possibly say that could convey to him her sincerity?

"Sora… thank you so much. For everything." She found herself saying the same type of words she said to Roxas and Xion. She was scared that such simple words weren't enough for Sora. They were too short and too basic—it possibly couldn't contain the weight of her words.

However, she knew it was enough the moment she looked up from their joined hands to meet Sora's gaze once more. A big smile adorned his face as he shook his head.

"No, Kairi, you don't need to thank me," Sora insisted. "Everything was all you, so you don't need to thank us for your own achievements."

Sora then let go of her hands and ruffled her head affectionately, completely forgetting to ask her for permission, but it didn't matter as Kairi accepted it wholeheartedly. "You did well, Kairi. You did really well. I'm proud of you. We're all proud of you, so you don't need to thank us."

Kairi had to wipe her tears so that she wouldn't start the break wailing like a baby. All three looked fondly at the redhead as she contained her tears and sniffles.

"That's not true, guys," she continued to insist, but her attempt at an argument was terribly lacking as her voice started to crack and her crying started to become evident. "That's not true."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever."

Sora noticed how Kairi gave Xion a hug and even goddamn Roxas one, but none was spared for him. However, it didn't matter.

He'll just get a hug for himself.

With one gentle hand, Sora pulled Kairi flush against his body, surprising her greatly as a small gasp escaped her lips. His arms wrapped tight around her thin frame, holding her in an intimate embrace that made Roxas and Xion feel too embarrassed to watch. However, Kairi's immediate crying casted away any type of awkwardness.

"I'm sorry," she bawled as she returned Sora's hug. "I'm sorry for crying."

"Now you're apologizing," Sora laughed. "There's nothing wrong with crying. It's a type of crying that we aren't sad to see, so let it all out." Roxas and Xion both nodded, completely agreeing with Sora. She had cried too many times in pain—it was time she was allowed to cry in happiness.

Kairi felt so warm and so protected in Sora's embrace that she never wanted to leave. He was special to her, and even though all her friends held a special existence to her, Sora was different. His special was a different type of special, and when that exact thought crossed her mind, that was when she realized the reason why she had such weird feelings in her chest every time Sora touched her and looked at her and even spoke to her. There was no mistaking it.

She loved him.

* * *

Hi guys, this fic is not dead, its author is just facing a massive writer's block for the longest time ever LOL. Guys, it is so close to making it to the end, but my brain for this fic is oddly not cooperating with me at this important segment of the story. So I had to test my writing ability by putting myself in a different type of setting. So guys be aware that this chapter was written while I was ON A BUS HAHAHA. Because it has been so long (again) since I updated this fic I apologize if the flow was odd and things were kind of chunky and out of place because my timeline for this fic is not as sharp. The amount of reviews and followers and favorites was that got me to continue writing and chugging this chapter out even though my brain juices are literally running out for this fic BUT HAVE NO FEAR, ENOUGH JUICE WILL BE SQUEEZED SO THAT THIS FIC REACHES THE END IT DESERVES!

Thank you for all your support and reviews. I would name everyone that reviewed last chapter but being in a bus sucks so. But my undying amount of appreciation for y'all is crazy cause it always keeps me writing c:

Hope you guys enjoyed!


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